Children of Alcoholics Censored on WIkipedia

n an effort to fight the stigma and stereotypes associated with growing up in an alcoholic household, I have been contributing to the Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) article on Wikipedia (note that the article is about the group of people, not the 12 step program). However, the article has recently come under heavy censorship from a number of editors.
In particular, the article contained a list of notable ACOAs. Everyone in the list had written or spoken publicly about growing up in an alcoholic household, or had a published biography that discussed their alcoholic parent(s). Included on the list was Eve Ensler, the author of the Vagina Monologues. The list was removed without discussion. After I restored it and started discussion on the topic, the editor made misleading changes to the article and requested a review. The review, based on erroneous information, resulted in the removal of the list again.
I reported the incident on an admin board, hoping that other editors would be more sensible. However, the list was removed yet again, by an editor who said, among other things “I removed the list. It is so unhelpful. I’d guess that 5% to 10% of people in the country have a parent with an alcohol problem.” This editor was trivializing a group of people due to being a minority!
I know there is an ACOA presence on this blog, and I urge anyone who cares about these issues to view the article and contribute to the discussion.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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