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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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