From the books ... Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)
1.
... elder statesman
is the one who sees ...
12&12 p.135,
Tradition Two
The elder statesman is
the one who sees the wisdom of the group's decision, who holds no resentment over his reduced status, whose judgment, fortified by
considerable experience, is sound, and
who is willing to sit quietly on the sidelines
patiently awaiting developments.
2.
... elder statesmen.
12&12 p.135,
Tradition Two
3.
... "elder statesmen"
and "bleeding deacons."
12&12 p.135,
Tradition Two
Ultimately, they divide into two classes known in A.A. slang as "elder statesmen" and "bleeding deacons."
Passages from the Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous
and the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
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