The stereotyping of the modern day vampire

  Stereotypes! They seem to be in abundance in everyday life. What I'm referring to deals more with the stereotyping of what the modern day vampire is perceived to be. Stereotypes have been in play for a very long time and has given birth to such phrases as “all Indians are drunks!” Which can be traced back to the introduction of distilled spirits to the Native American people in the late 18th and 19th centuries on up to today's “a Muslims are terrorists!” The overwhelming problem with stereotypes is they are seldom if ever true. And they are often the polar opposite of what is actually fact as opposed to fiction.
                    What is interesting though is how society is so very comfortable with the placement of stereotypes on one another that they become blind to the truth that stands right in front of them. The concept of the modern day vampire has been clumped in with other groups of individuals with dark traits and characteristics. These groups consist of “Goths, Rockers (head-bangers), and even the most recent one to come along, Emos”. The issue is though that in reality only a small percentage of vampires fall into these groups. The vast majority of us are spread out across every demographic available. So what I would like to do is dispel some of the more notable stereotypes associated with modern vampirism, especially in the United States.
                    For instance if you stop the average Joe or Jane on the street the impression that is given is one of disillusionment and rebellion that has been present in the adolescence of every generation since the industrial revolution and earlier. The stereotype in this is that the belief of vampirism is based on the average teenagers natural instinct towards rebellious behavior of some degree. First vampirism in its many forms knows no age limit. Awakenings happen across all generational divides. True though that most occur during mid to late adolescents. There is still a good number who don't fully awaken till way into their 40's, 50's and even 60's anything beyond that would be rare yes, but not totally impossible to concieve if one were honest in their perceptions of us.
                    They will tell you of how our complexion is pale in comparison to that of everyone else's. Once again the association with the goth and Emo scenes is apparent. The truth is most modern vampires hold daytime jobs which exposes them to all the trappings of the sun. This includes both sunburns and tans. Granted one of the more common traits or characteristics shared by most is some form of sensitivity from the sun or any source of bright light (fluorescents). These would include migraine headaches to skin irritations with the migraines tipping the scale on that one, and a good pair of dark cheep sunglasses takes care of that to a degree. If you are like me you need a hat with some form of a brim as well to insure even less sunlight hits my eyes.
                     You would no doubt hear of how the shelves of your local “Hot Topic” store are stocked for the vampire at large! Well that's just plain Bull Shit right there. Truth is you might find the teen to the early thirties crowd shopping there. But I know of very few over thirty-five year olds who do. Most in this age area have found more authentic attires for the occasional formal event on line and I wouldn't be surprised if Wal-mart isn't their chief supplier of daytime wear.
                     You would be told of how our tastes of music are limited to only the sounds of industrial or alternative styles of rock and roll. Once again only a small handful of the overall community is like that. The truth is there is a vast and broad spectrum of music across the board. In fact I'll go on record as saying most modern vampires would classify their musical taste as eclectic or way off the beaten path. Take me for example my tastes range from Charlotte Church to Willie nelson from Motorhead to Bach and just about everything in between.
                    And finally I must admit that this last one is a personal one. They will just as easily though dismiss all of this by saying “but we will grow out of it as we get older”. When I said awakenings happen across the board age wise. Well that should have been a clue. The already are those of us in our 40's, 50's, and 60's who've been awakened for years if not decades. So that in and of it's self should be enough to dispel that particular stereotype. Yet it still prevails. I know I alone cannot change how society views us or me, what I can do and I encourage all modern day vampires to do is help to replace these more ridiculous perceptions with the more factual and realistic ones.