ALTOONA, CALIFORNIA
Altoona’s local dungeon, “The Play Spot,” has created a new event focused on creating a “safe space” for marginalized members of the community. The first party, which occurred Thursday, had mixed results according to Alice Kimpt, the party organizer.
“Well the first person who showed up seemed to have a problem with everyone else who came through the door. Everyone else made them feel ‘marginalized’, ‘unsafe’ or ‘othered.'” As a result, Kimpt had to refuse entry to nearly 35 potential party goers. “It wasn’t so much what they had done, as what they might do,” the sole guest explained, asking that her name be withheld from publication, “Like that one person who was wearing leather boots. That could be very hard for a vegan to have to witness. I’m not a vegan, but someone might be. Another person was just too tall. Height can be a microaggression. They didn’t even seem to be aware of that.”
The woman who sat on a stool in the middle of the empty dungeon even questioned whether Kimpt should be there. She was accused of “exerting party privilege” and “failing to recognize the struggle of being a guest.”
To add insult to injury, the sole party guest posted a scathing critique the next day, berating people for failing to attend and come out to support her.
“I’ve never felt so isolated and alone,” she wrote. “We will never have a real community if people can’t even come out to a party.”
