I was raised in an incredibly sarcastic, Irish household. If we were being sarcastic to you, it meant that we loved you. I was lucky enough to marry a man who, not only understood this, he mastered it.
So, it should come as no surprise that around the house we use all sorts of colorful "diabetes" language. From him mocking me when I'm low with his, "I think I'm low" jingle, to his taking and posting Instagram pics as I am crashed out on the dining room floor, stuffing every bit of food I can find into my mouth, our language is far from respectful.
But just as we taught our children, "this is a family joke," I only talk like this in select company.
With all humor, it is best to know your audience. And so, publicly, I have chosen to use language that is least likely to offend, whatever that may be at the moment.
At times that means using language that is not as efficient, using phrases like "person with diabetes" instead of "diabetic." I put a high value of efficiency, especially in language. But I put a higher value on people. And so, I will use an extra few words so that my word choice does not hamper my message. It is far too valuable to help people find a source of motivation to take amazing care of their diabetes to let my efficiency of language get in the way. After all, language is only efficient if I am getting my message across.
We already have enough pain and strife from living with or taking care of someone with diabetes, without my words adding to it.