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Teaching, a Lost Tradition

I am a member of several lists, houses, courts and organizations in the real vampire community. Now I say this not to impress you or make you feel outranked, but to give gravity to the point, which I will make shortly. I cannot tell you of the innumerable posts I see on these lists, the countless stories I hear person to person, concerning how non-vampiric people who do not understand vampires are "small/close-minded" "stupid" "un- evolved" "inferior" "idiots", or some such neat offensive little label that your mother probably would frown upon. And if she would not do so, I frown upon you in that case.

These people are none of the above. What they are is uninformed. Short and simple. There is nothing negative about that that can reflect on them. It does not constitute them as being any of the above adjectives. In fact, it rather reflects poorly on those in the vampire community who expect people to just "get it" about real vampirism. This continued feeling of defensiveness and hostility which has perpetuated itself throughout much of the Vampire Community is not the element which will create good teachers or effective lessons. This attitude will not expedite others' understanding. I speak to you from my heart in this statement. I have traveled a long hard road to learn this lesson. I struggle with this teaching every day.

If you often wonder about why there is such a negative stigma attached to real vampires and why there is such a cloud of distrust and even malice which surrounds peoples' mindsets towards real vampirism, look at the books that are available on the subject. The most well advertised book on vampirism is none other than "Vampires: The Occult Truth" by Konstantinos. This book is carried by several major book chains across the world, the gothic Gap (Hot Topic) and every metaphysical store I have ever been into. I have heard several vampires praising his work and refer to it as a core text for real vampirism. I wonder if they have ever read this book. You see, dear reader, Konstantinos hones in on the psychic vampire as "the most dangerous creatures of all who intentionally drain the life force from their victims." That's a direct quote from the book description which I found on Konstantinos' site. So I have to feel that there are many real vampires running around the community that are lacking in their comprehension of real vampirism if they are supporting this book. Several books have come out in recent years that have helped to dispel the predatory image of not just psychic vampires, but real vampires in general. However, not casting aside the efforts and good intentions of the authors, I am afraid they have come too late. But I digress, this essay is not meant to be an attack on any book or the authors. Rather, I hope to make this an effective piece on responsibility within the community, focusing on teaching. You see I hope to convince you that it is not up to the authors of books, but rather to individuals who have the vampiric condition to educate others about vampirism. The reason being, students cannot learn if no one will step up to take their turn as teacher.

Teacher. The word has immense gravity in any community. We often refer to those we believe to be learned as Elders in our community. But we are all learned to some extent. We cannot expect a small fraction of our community to teach everyone or we will doubtlessly find many misinformed or at a loss, potentially dangerous to themselves or others. The title means nothing if the knowledge is not being applied in a productive way. So I ask you today, the individual, the student, to prepare yourself to take your turn as Teacher. Teach has several meanings but I steer your focus to only two: 1) to guide the studies of, 2) to impart the knowledge to.

How can one ready himself for such a task? It is frightening to think that we can be responsible in shaping others' perceptions and thoughts. It is a powerful position to find yourself in and one not taken lightly. I laud anyone who is an effective teacher. I feel an effective teacher is someone who learns from their students how to teach, gives their students the most accurate information which they gather with their utmost effort and care and listens as they speak. Most importantly, a good teacher will recognize other good teachers and will encourage their students to learn from a wide range of proper teachers. So if you care to take up this challenge and be proactive in the community while enriching and improving the quality of others' knowledge and tolerance here are my lessons to becoming a good teacher. (Note: I speak as the 21 year old daughter of a woman who has been teaching grade school for 25 years. I have been embarrassingly exposed to what makes a great teacher. Kudos to you mom.)

1) Be prepared. I have mentioned gathering accurate information.
2) Be interested in the subject you are going to teach.
3) Have your students' best interests at heart. This
means that you should be respectful and not put your needs before your students when teaching.
4) Be ready for an open exchange of ideas.

My mother says that there are two `e''s in `teacher': enthusiasm and energy. I can agree with that statement.

I encourage you all to teach so you can better learn how to communicate your vampirism to others. It is a tool that will serve you well in every aspect of your life. It is never enough to stand by idly and hope that people learn about vampirism for themselves. This doesn't mean you need to stand out on a corner handing out pamphlets. I do not ask that you disclose yourself as a real vampire. I know many within our community find privacy and total discretion necessary to their economical and occupational welfare. I am not advocating that you rent out a hall and sermonize. I am saying that if you find some people who are interested in learning about real vampirism, be prepared to teach them about the subject. I am supportive of being able to steer those who are misinformed to illumination. I am for the members of this community taking action and responsibility within the community. The next time you find yourself moping around and thinking no one understands your vampirism, think about what you have done to help them to that understanding. Our community is at a point where there must be individual accountability for the whole.

If you have read up to this point, you must have some interest in this subject. Hopefully, you are finding yourself in accord with what I am saying in this article. But, you may find yourself asking "Okay Laura, good idea, but how do I apply this idea?" To you I say this: ask your list members. Use this question as an opportunity to start a conversation with a Council, Associate or list member/s. It is all very well for me to sermonize about the right way to approach a situation, but in the long run, it is always better to learn from many than to learn from one.

Laura Kabella

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