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In the early years of the online vampire community, there were many terms in
use for describing non-vampiric people. Some of these terms included "mortal"
(which implied that we were immortal), "human" (which implied that
we were...well...something else), "nil" (which implies...braindead?
or something...) and "normal" (which implied that we were abnormal
or perhaps in need of psychiatric care). Because most of us do "mundane"
things like pay bills, have doctor visits, go to work, etc., something that
wouldn't generate such a wildly innacurate picture of us was needed.
I proposed the term "mundane" back in either 1998 or 1999 - based
upon it's already established usage in other communnities - as a less inaccurate
term to describe anyone who is not a vampire. I based my proposal on a similer
usage within an organization called the Society for Creative Anachronisms, which
is linked below. It had the advantage of already working, and working well,
for general SCA usage, and I saw no reason it couldn't work equally well for
the vampire community. It also has the advantage of not directly implying anything
about one's vampiric nature to anyone who may be "listening in".
Note: There are individuals
in the community who DO consider themselves inhuman. However, it is not the
place of this article (or me) to agree or disagree with a person's sincerely
held belief regarding his or her personal self. I am describing only the general
usage of this term within the community at large.
Unfortunately, with the rapid growth of the online community, many of the newer
people never saw, or have forgotten, the original messages detailing the original
reason the term was introduced. As a result, there are rumors or complaints
on various message boards that "mundane" actually means that we consider
ourselves "superior" to non-vampires, when that is not the real meaning.
So, let us take a look at what the term "mundane" really means, once
and for all. For sources, we have our choice of the following:
Source: The
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Definition: 1. Of, relating to, or
typical of this world; secular. 2. Relating to, characteristic of, or concerned
with commonplaces; ordinary.
...or...
Source: WordNet
® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University
Definition: adj 1: found in the ordinary
course of events; "a placid everyday scene"; "it was a routine
day"; "there's nothing quite like a real...train conductor to
add color to a quotidian commute"- Anita Diamant ... 2: concerned with
the world or worldly matters; "mundane affairs"; "he developed
an immense terrestrial practicality" ... 3: belonging to this earth
or world; not ideal or heavenly; "not a fairy palace; yet a mundane
wonder of unimagined kind"; "so terrene a being as himself"
...or...
Source: The
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2004 Denis Howe
Definition: <jargon> Someone
outside some group that is implicit from the context, such as the computer
industry or science fiction fandom. The implication is that those in the
group are special and those outside are just ordinary.
...or...
Source: Jargon
File 4.2.0
Definition: n. [from SF fandom] 1.
A person who is not in science fiction fandom. 2. A person who is not in
the computer industry. In this sense, most often an adjectival modifier
as in "in my mundane life...."
...or...
Source: Society
for Creative Anachronisms -- What
is the SCA?
Definition Notes: There is no (easily
findable) online dictionary for the SCA that I can point to, however anyone
who IS in the SCA will be able to confirm that "mundane" is in
common usage within the SCA to refer to one of two situations: (1) a person
who is not an SCA member, or (2) Referring to any aspect of an SCA member's
non-SCA life or identity.
As you can see, none of them imply "superiority" per se - only being
different (or "special" as per one definition, but don't most people
think they're special in some way?), and to set members of a specific group
apart from those who are NOT part of that group. General usage of the term "mundane"
is NOT meant to be insulting, and it's often easier to say or write than "non-vampire(s)".
This article is presented as part of an ongoing effort to present other views outside of, as well as within, the online vampire community. Those of us who consider ourselves vampiric don't always look at things from the same viewpoint due to our life experiences. As such, the views and opinions 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 - you are responsible for using your own reasoning and judgement, so judge wisely.
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