I am close to 27 years dry and sober. I am an alcoholic. I am a drunk. Yes, alcoholic sounds nicer. Drunk reminds me of the reality of it all.

I don't know why anyone would be uncomfortable with the term 'recovering alcoholic'. I'm proud to be one. It was a tough journey, and still is. Never found anyone who didn't care for the term.

Augusta

I'll be a pissonyapatheticpukepile drunk,,,hmmmm sounds good.
No disrespect, just a joke.

I don't know why, but it's something we've always done in the AA circles I've traveled.
I think it's a great reminder that of what we're all one drink away from.
But here's a line you can use next time it happens.
Just say: "That's MRS ( or Miss) Drunk to you!

We call each other drunks because we need to be reminded where we came from. You won't find that on the streets we respect each others anonimity. If we call you a drunk we're probably in a meeting and no malice is intended. If you're a drunk you're a drunk ...you could be dead

I would not call anybody a drunk but does it really matter?

The most important thing is not what other people call you but what you call yourself and what you think of yourself. Now, that is something you can change.

better a drunk than a drunk alcoholic :-)

I like 'drunk'!!!!! I think it's because I'm in my fifties! Growing up, if you saw someone staggering down the street, they were a 'drunk', not an alcoholic.
Now, when people offer my an alcoholic drink and question why I refuse I tell 'em, 'I CAN'T drink!! I'm a drunk!!!!!'
As I say, I like the term. But I would never use it on someone if I knew they didn't like being referred to that way!!!

People used to call me all kinds of things,being called a drunk would be the nicest.. I can not control what is said about me all I can do is show I am working on change. Take the day as positive and forget the negative,progress..
Peace,Mark

"Now, when people offer my an alcoholic drink and question why I refuse I tell 'em, 'I CAN'T drink!! I'm a drunk!!!!! "

It always annoys me that someone would be expected to supply an exuse or a reason for not accepting an alcoholic drink, but refusing coffee, tea, soda, milk, etc. is never questioned. LOL

Ha!!!! Maybe the ones who pose the question are undiagnosed alcoholics/drunks!!!!!! They can't imagine passing up a drink!!!

WhooHoo, I'm glad you wrote this post. I got so many laughs at what other people said.. because all of us here were at one time or another drunk. And I'm still laughing.. I personally don't like the word "recovering" so I don't use it but others do and that is fine. Remember when you were drinking.... were'nt you drunk? And by the way, I'm not only a drunk but I'm a dope fiend. And that word doesn't bother me either. Haven't used dope since 1989 but I'm a dope fiend. The one post about about black people calling each other nigger but it's not okay for a white person to say it.. why is that? I was born in Detroit 52 yrs ago, I'm white, my husband is white, but I call him Nigga.. it's just a word.. like drunk. Peace, Karen

'Nigga.. it's just a word.. like drunk'

No, it isn't. I'm 68, and I recall the time when the N word was used as an ugly racist slur by many and in public. It's a hateful word designed to keep a group of people at the bottom of the heap, simply because of an accident of birth, which is having non-white skin. I destest the word. The meaning of the word has not changed, and most people realize that using it is an insult of the worst kind.

Sorry, but I agree with Katie.
Being called a 'drunk' is from the dark ages & sounds so much like character attack.
It is an illness..not a sin...like my Catholic family thinks!!!

I understand the how words affect people and don't see why & how people can be so callous about it?

What difference does it make as long as we all want to recover & be whole again?

I gotta tell ya that is one (two,actually) funny penguin