Article Excerpt:
The South African Vampyre Community is steadily evolving and coming into our own. With each passing month we grow larger and stronger – not only in numbers, but also in stature among our international Vampi(y)re Community brothers and sisters. We have developed our own unique culture and community character, complete with educational materials, guidelines, literature, and have even held some small but successful events. We have overcome numerous obstacles to our continued existence and we have even had to face the potential threats posed by hostile groups in our own country. We walk with our heads held high among the diverse groups of the international Vampi(y)re Community. Despite all of our advances in the past couple of years, imagine for a moment that there was another threat… one that came not from outside our culture, but from within.
Imagine if a Vampyre with a lust for power and fame arrived in our midst. One who had a talent for manipulating people to their will and convincing them to purchase their services and products in order to “become a Vampyre”. A commercial empire crafted of a different mindset than the Vampyre Community many of us have come to know and the broadly accepted description of our vampyric nature. A spiritual or religious cult-like organization specifically designed to place this lone Vampyre at the top of a pyramid. A model concerned only with generating as much revenue as possible from devotees and public customers (sometimes referred to as ‘gaja’ by this Vampyre) through the means of vampire themed parties, prosthetic fangs and book sales.
Imagine this entrepreneurial Vampyre decided to come here, to South Africa, and wanted to throw a vampire party; complete with lots of advertising and funds invested into the decor, a dance floor, entertainment and merchandizing booths. Imagine all your friends in the local Vampyre community are excited about attending the “party of the century”. Imagine that when local community leaders or respected members from South Africa arrive at the door, this Vampyre’s staff tells them that they aren’t welcome at the party. Further, that your House or group will be usurped by a new Court system which other well-placed and eager friends of this cult-like organization will be establishing in your area. This Vampyre is willing to pour time and money into its development, which will in all likelihood, wipe out the existing framework you and others have spent years building and replace it with their own.
Does this sound like a pipe dream? Too crazy to be true? Far fetched?
A little while back, some in the Vampyre community were warning about this very thing happening in their area. They were labeled “hysterics” and dismissed as paranoid or as conspiracy theorists. As it turns out these early warnings should have been heeded. All the stuff people thought was just conspiratorial actually wasn’t – what they cautioned everyone about has already happened and is now continuing to unfold. If left unchecked it may threaten to befall vampire communities in other cities and undermine the very individuality and autonomous spirit so dear to our community.
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