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From personal stances to more formal written codes, ethics within the
vampire community is a fairly common topic and, like so many others, one
full of a wide range of opinions and perspectives. Ethics come in many
different forms, depending on personal choices and what situations are
involved, but everyone involved in the community should follow at least
some sort of ethical code with some common basics included.
One of the most important but commonly and sadly overlooked parties involved
in the community are the donors. Because of this, donor ethics in particular
are not always discussed; so much emphasis is put on the ethics of the
vampires, but donors also have ethical responsibilities:
First, donors have the responsibility to ensure that they are clean
and healthy. This includes being medically clean and free of communicable
diseases, infections, or illness that could cause harm to them or to
the vampire they are donating to; physically clean and following a proper
hygiene routine; and mentally and emotionally healthy . In many ways,
common sense is important here; if a donor is sick or extremely stressed,
they have the responsibility to tell their vampire that they aren't
able to donate until they are healthy and stable again.
If the donor is physically donating (either via blood or other means
that requires physical contact), it is not an unreasonable request for
the donor to be tested for diseases at a local clinic and to show the
results of the test to the vampire they are donating to.
The donor should also keep in mind that if the same is not offered,
it is also a perfectly reasonable request for the vampire to have the
same testing if they will be in physical contact with the donor.
If a donor finds they're too tired or have been donating too frequently,
they need to tell the vampire they're donating to so the relationship
can be adjusted so as not to hurt the donor.
Similarly, the donor should tell the vampire if there is or will be
a change in their life that will impact their ability to donate.
The donor has a responsibility to be aware of what is happening and
educate themselves as to how the vampire is going to feed, what training
they have, and what the possible effects will be on them so they do
not agree to something they do not want and do not panic when their
vampire does feed on them. One of the main keys is open communication
between the donor and vampire.
Ethics for vampires primarily relate to their interaction with a donor:
The first ethical responsibility for any vampire is to be honest with
themselves and their donor about if they truly are a vampire and truly
need to feed; while there is nothing wrong with someone having a blood
fetish rather than actually being a vampire, it would be unethical to
use the guise of vampirism to find a donor to fill that desire, while
the donor believes they are donating to meet a need.
The next responsibility for a vampire is to educate themselves. If
the vampire is a sang, they need to learn about anatomy and what methods
of feeding are or are not safe. Psi vampires have the ethical responsibility
to learn to control their feeding, so as not to constantly drain those
around them. Also, psi vampires should inform and obtain consent from
those they feed directly and significantly on (as opposed to simply
wandering through a shopping mall and drawing from the collective energy
of the people there).
Vampires also have the responsibility to take every possible precaution
to prevent harm to their donor or themselves. This includes everything
from proper aftercare for the donor after feeding to confirming that
both they and their donors are physically and mentally healthy.
Vampires must also keep in mind the possible legal ramifications and
resolve any ethical concerns they have due to them, which is most often
handled by the commonsense requirements that all donors be of legal
age and fully consenting.
Vampires are responsible for respecting the wishes of their donors.
All vampires also have a responsibility to their donor to keep open
communication with them about their needs. If a vampire is not feeding
enough, it is up to them to discuss it with their donor and come to
an agreement about how to rectify the situation.
Similarly, the vampire should tell their donor if they are or will
be going through something in their life that is likely to change their
feeding requirements.
Finally, one of the most important ethical responsibilities for both
donors and vampires is mutual respect and lack of abuse or manipulation.
One of the most unethical things possible is for a donor to use their
being a source of sustenance over their vampire as a means of control
or manipulation. Likewise, a vampire should never use their feeding
as a threat or take it to an extreme where it becomes no longer consensual
for the donor. Both parties always have the option of ending
the arrangement or choosing not to feed or donate.
Also, many donors and vampires develop extremely strong bonds and connections
ranging from energetic to emotional, and neither party should use those
bonds to influence or manipulate the other.
While the finer details of ethics for those within the vampire community
often boil down to personal choices and opinions, commonsense, caution,
respect, and safety are the keys for most ethical concerns when it comes
to vampires and donors.
ETHICS CHECKLIST
Vampires:
- Am I actually a vampire and so actually need to feed?
- Have I educated myself?
-- Do I know enough about anatomy to not injure my donor?
-- Do I know how to control my feeding?
-- Do I know how to care for my donor?
- Is my donor of legal age?
- Is my donor fully aware and consenting of donating?
- Is what I am doing safe?
-- Have both my donor and I been tested for diseases or illness?
-- Are both my donor and I mentally stable?
- Is the relationship with my donor healthy?
-- Am I being careful to not manipulate my donor?
-- Am I not allowing my donor to manipulate me?
- Am I communicating what I need with my donor?
- Am I being mindful of my donors needs and wishes?
Donors:
- Is what I am doing safe?
-- Have both my vampire and I been tested for diseases or illness?
-- Are both my vampire and I mentally stable?
-- Has my vampire educated themselves?
- Is the relationship with my vampire healthy?
-- Am I being careful to not manipulate my vampire?
-- Am I not allowing my vampire to manipulate me?
- Have I educated myself about what my vampire needs?
-- Do I know how my vampire is going to feed?
-- Do I know what the effects of donating are?
- Am I communicating what I need and want with my vampire?
~Isealdor, Feb 2009
This article is presented as part of an ongoing
effort to present other views outside of, as well as within, the online
vampire community. As such, the views and attitudes contained in this
article are entirely those of the author(s), and may not necessarily
be shared by SphynxCatVP. The webmaster is not under obligation to update
or otherwise keep current the contents of this article. Most
importantly, only you can decide for yourself whether this article or
any of the author(s) other views are useful or applicable to you - use
your own reasoning and judgment.
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