There’s been a lot of talk recently in the media about how women should be treated and how to treat those who think otherwise.
Why is this still an issue in 2016? Half of the world’s population is female. Aren’t we past this sort of thing?
Here are a few boundaries and expectations for those endorsing “locker room talk.”
- If there’s something you wouldn’t say about a man, don’t say it about a woman.
- If there’s something you wouldn’t say TO a man, don’t say it to a woman, either.
- It’s okay to look, but don’t leer. Creeping is neither attractive nor friendly.
- The touching and grabbing thing? It’s called Bodily Integrity. Look it up. You know what? Never mind… here you go:
Bodily integrity is the inviolability of the physical body and emphasizes the importance of personal autonomy and the self-determination of human beings over their own bodies. It considers the violation of bodily integrity as an unethical infringement, intrusive, and possibly criminal.
Here comes the hypocritical part: don’t Vampires violate bodily integrity all the time?
It’s true: too many of us do, and we’re built for it. We can make you forget we ever touched you, bit you, or took something that didn’t belong to us without permission. I’ll go so far as to admit this is more often the rule than the exception — and no, not killing you isn’t any better of an excuse. “I’m sorry I violated you, but hey, at least you’re still alive.”
There’s also the argument that human beings don’t ask permission to slaughter cows, chickens, or pigs — they’re just food. True, but humans aren’t just food. You’re sentient, self-aware, and understand what’s happening to you. Okay, farm animals don’t… well, hmm. Fine — maybe they do know, and it’s not like they can save themselves. How did this turn into a Vegan message?
THAT escalated quickly.
So let’s say “bad” Vampires enjoy the locker room talk and violating bodily integrity. You don’t want to be like them, do you?
To recap: watch your mouth, watch your hands, and show some respect.
You don’t always know who you’re talking to when you’re out and about, and maybe you’re not the alpha predator in this little documentary.
Ever watch Animal Planet?
Keep each other safe.
~ Janiss
Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
Twitter @JanissConnelly
Instagram @janiss.connelly
Facebook @JanissConnelly
Tumblr janissconnelly.tumblr.com
Google+ JanissConnelly
Discus @justjaniss
Here’s a scary little fact: Vampires don’t just become faster and stronger; they get smarter, as in actually able to process data faster. They don’t just notice a few things; they notice everything, and they can put observations and facts together quickly… the very definition of intelligence. Couple that with a photographic memory and you should get the idea it’s hard to one-up the undead. There’s a downside, of course — two, actually: distractibility and paranoia — but if you don’t use what you know and choose to ignore it, that knowledge is useless.
The word of the day is “Pupillometry.” Vampires can sprout fangs and talons, of course, but our pupils dilate far wider than the color of our irises, giving our eyes a black or dark red appearance when seen “vamped out” since the observed sclera (whites of the eye) almost disappear. As a supernatural predator, it’s one of the hardest things to conceal about ourselves in the wild since sudden widening is an involuntary response to danger and desire… even in mortal humans.
I know Vampires in both Wheeling and Washington, D.C., but I can’t imagine subsisting in the city. Daytime below ground is a requirement for us, so penthouse suites and park-view condos are out of the question in terms of practicality — unless you have a private Batman-esque express elevator straight down into the basement. And how bad would living in New Orleans be with all the flooding? Yes, according to Anne Rice, the Big Easy is infested with immortals, but that has to be pure fiction; no one I know would spend their day’s rest in a flooded grave (it’s terrible what keeps happening there).
This brings us back to controlling an election cycle. Sure, maybe mention to the new small-town mayor that the Blood Bank doesn’t need new surveillance cameras (which is ridiculous because Vampires couldn’t use any of that blood, but that’s a different story) or to declare an “abandoned” century-old mansion on the edge of town a state landmark to ensure it’s never torn down and must be maintained by the city. Neat ideas, sure, but on a larger scale, problems ensue…
I used to read my mom’s old paperback romance books: Danielle Steel novels. What’s wrong with falling for a renowned heart-transplant surgeon these days? Maybe what I remember are the heroines: “a glamorous, well-to-do young writer,” or “a beautiful young journalist.” Yes, there’s a pattern here — only the young get to fall in love ’cause those are the rules — but when you don’t have to worry about money, you can concentrate on everything else you want out of life without consequence (insert sarcastic laugh here).
That said, if you come at me with the intent to harm myself or my charges, I will end you. Maybe I’ll give you a chance to turn your ass around and maybe I won’t. There are plenty of ways I can kill you, some faster than others and I have quite the imagination. Oh, that’s against the law? The last time I checked, there weren’t any Mountain State politicians exactly pandering to the Vampire Vote, so when you cross my threshold, consider anything that happens to you justified — not to mention we have a really great cleaning crew on staff.
So, too, can living people, but most dismiss the tell-tale signs as a mood swing or stray passing thought. What humans shrug off, animals are startled by because their emotions are not complex; they understand such emotions are not their own even if they can’t be sure of the source.
Cedarcrest Sanctum 