Fakes, Frauds, and Wanna Be's

I am sick and tired of the title "slave" being used as a status symbol within the lifestyle. The newer generation of lifestyle people (not age wise, but experience wise) has no idea what it means to be a slave, or a Master, for that matter.
These fakes, frauds, and wanna bes think it is "cool" to say they are a slave. In doing so, they drag the reputations and the status of other slaves, those who know what it really means to be a slave, through the mud. Some of these people are submissives, at best, some merely bottoms. They ask questions that show they have no idea what they are talking about, and insult a slave who corrects them and shows them where they are mistaken.
A slave does NOT expect their Master or Mistress to treat them a specific way, they do NOT expect a specific behavior from their Master or Mistress, they are NOT bratty all the time, they do NOT tease or goad other Dominants until what they want is done. They do NOT put down their Master or Mistress in public forums.
A very good Master friend of mine, one of the very few Masters in my area who do not disgrace the title, said when we were discussing these local bottoms (I refuse to insult myself and my slave friends by calling these people anything but a bottom) "a slave doesn't expect anything from their Master except that they don't kill the slave or have them do anything illegal."
Part of their attitudes would be the fault of the local community. The community here does not foster education, it, instead, fosters a what have you done for me lately attitude. When a get together for education of slaves is planned, no one comes, no one participates, mainly because they say, oh you aren't teaching what *I* want to learn, so I don't have to go. Their notions about slavehood are all based on what *they* want and not what the community needs or what the title really means.
These attitudes are evident in some of the questions asked in "30 Days of Discovering Your Slavehood," a project in the local slave group, which was turned around and used to insult group members. "Do you expect physical punishments as part of your slavehood? Do you accept when your Master or Mistress refuses to issue them or do you demand them?" EXCUSE ME? Expect? Demand? This is what I answered, "When it comes to my slavehood and the way our dynamic is handled, I do not expect things. If Master does decide it fits His agenda for the day to issue a physical punishment, I will accept it with grace and dignity, but I do not expect these things. If I want a physical pain session, I will make the request, but I will not demand of Him. I will accept His decision and His judgement. A slave does not expect her Master to do things in her time, but His. She does not demand things of her Master. That is not being a slave, that is topping from the bottom." This, of course, got picked apart and torn to shreds by the so-called slaves in the group because they are not educated in what being a slave means.
If you are going to claim slavehood, learn what it means, ask other slaves what it means, get involved and actually go to educational get togethers. I have planned many of these get togethers for our community and not a single one had anyone attend. Learn, read, grow, don't think you know everything. Hell, even after 17 years in this lifestyle, I am still learning things.