Hidden gems

“Statistically, just the rate at which diabetes is being diagnosed, you should be cautious of saying something like that [accusations of not knowing what life with diabetes is like]. Rashly assuming is a dangerous business.”

“That does not mean that it is our only defining characteristic or that we must live in a constant state of emergency. Were non-diabetics who know nothing about the disease to read some of the posted responses, they would conclude that diabetics live in a constant state of panic because the disease is unmanageable. That is not a good message for us to send to diabetics or non-diabetics.”

The first quote is from the elder Miss Manners; the second from the younger, the one with T1. (Excerpted from yesterday’s article on DiabetesMine, which had me captivated from start to finish.)

Now, you may not agree with everything Miss Manners says… heck, you may despise everything ever written in the column. But if you take some time to think about these two quotes and consider them in your own interactions with others, you just might be surprised on how well it works.