Since this has become a rather debated topic, I thought it prudent to spell it out, in detail, for those who ask why I continue with this train of thought.

The beginning of February, I was in Newark, NJ at a club with Madame X and Wulfsunus from House of the Dreaming. While we were standing outside, we meet a young man, about 19, who was passing out fliers for a vamp-themed night at another club. During this meeting, he explained how he thought he was a vampyre, since he had been reading Michelle's Codex, and Vampires In Their Own Words, and he mirrored much of what had been written. He said he even wrote an email to Father Sebastiaan asking if he was a vamp, to which he got the reply that he would have to come up with his own decision based on what he thought.

Mind you, Madame X and I were chuckling like hell, since he mentioned the book we were both in, as well as him emailing Sebastiaan. So we wished him well with his reading, and went back into the club, laughing the rest of the night.

The problem is: this is a general representation of many claiming to be vampires. It makes me reflect to when I first came online looking for others. I started in Kheperu's forum, and saw for the thousands that were writing on posts, most were trying to validate their reasons for being vampires without any substantial revelation about actually practicing vampyrism. There was maybe a handful that actually could.

As I traveled to other groups and forums, I saw practically the same thing. Hundreds of blood gods and vampyresses, and a handful of people that actually knew what they were talking about.

So I started going to different events. Lo and behold: the same result. People knew how to dress up and talk a mean game, with very little substance, or the ability to have their own thoughts on something that is supposed to be such an important part of their lives.

I started getting email after email from people who saw my personal website, asking a whole lot of questions. Most of those were folks wondering if they were vampires. And through my reading, I noticed that there were similar themes as the discussions went in depth. For many of the females, it was that they had been assaulted, sexually, or in violent relationships. For males, it was that they weren't overly popular, or were shunned by their classmates or co-workers. It was also common that after some kind of traumatic event that they thought they were vampires, or wanted to be vampires.

It didn't take rocket science or an in-depth study to realize that most who claimed they were vampyres were actually wanting to be seen as vampyres. It was a sense of escapism to rid them of the persona that they thought had caused the traumatic event in the first place. If someone got dumped because they weren't exiting enough, or picked on for not being man enough, they believed that by claiming to be a vamp, wearing all black, and acting like they were part of some underground culture would alleviate that problem. And when more information became available that they could possibly be considered vampyres without having to drink blood, the rolls of these groups grew exponentially, far outweighing the ones who actually fed psychically.

I have met people, both in the US and overseas, because of being a part of our society. And I had very little problem discerning who was genuine, and who was trying to fit in. It takes just a few minutes of conversation and observing mannerisms to figure that out. I won't even include the ever-debated Beacon aspect into the equation. But I have learned that people who actually practiced vampyrism were able to relate that from a very personal aspect, rather than just reciting someone else's words.

As time went on, I started getting more involved with he politics of our kind. And as I met more people who were supposed to be "leaders," they didn't say anything different from any other group of a hundred people, or would make claims that I knew were rubbish, like being descended from a secret bloodline or "turned" by another "leader." It struck me as these supposed leaders were really folks who were capable of getting popular consensus for others to believe in their regurgitated statements rather than by working with individuals to find their own answers. I remember the Father Todd Petition, and how many were so quick to add their name, even if they had no contact with him at all.

The OVC, to me, is a herd mentality. You have a handful of individuals, and packs of people with too much time on their hands, or disenfranchised with their own existences, who wish to emulate that rather than speak from their own perspectives. The truth is: most don't have their own perspectives. You can switch out one screen name for another, and get the very same words. Almost verbatim.

So even if they might be good people, whether or not I get along with them, doesn't make them an actual vampyre. An actual vampyre practices vampyrism for their own need, and not to fit in. They are capable of relaying their natures from a personal perspective and have different thought on why they are what they are with variations different than just a copy of someone who already put their thoughts out there.

The great thing about being alive is that we all have the free will to follow our own paths. Not only do I follow my own path, but I have been lucky enough to find and meet others who do the same. For those that take too much time trying to pretend they are something they're not, I'll be here to toss the bullshit flag.

I don't expect what I say here to become doctrine or popular. But I will say what I believe in, rather than compliment the emperor on his "new clothes."