History of New Mexico Alternative Communities
Overview • Venues • Artisans • Groups • Events • Media • Individuals

What might we gather from histories of alternative communities such as this and how might we use it?  Each of us may perceive different things from history in our community.  Perhaps some of the following could be valuable for you.

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• Understanding the past helps you know why we're here and were to go next.

  • There are great ideas from the past that you can select, adjust, or leave behind and use as a plan to move forward.

  • Consider approaching leaders of past and current activities to learn more.

  • Understanding the past doesn't mean you need to follow the past.

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• While you can, have fun, be kind, make safe space.​

  • Our alternative & leather communities exist within a dominant vanilla society that is often extremely repressive and unsafe for us.

  • This history is about having fun and enjoying life by making safe space.

  • All of the venues, groups, and events listed here were focused on these things.​

  • Need a new safe space?  Approach an existing organization to help or start your own (join their table).  If that doesn't work, create your own safe space (create your own table).  Collaborate with others.

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• A small number of people usually lead us forward to fun space - Now and then, be one of them!

  • A small group of people can make great things happen.​  It's about service to the community.  But the small number of people will burn out, so it is better to have more involved.

  • When you can, find an existing activity, get involved and help with the work of making fun.

  • It's OK to sit back sometimes and enjoy the work of others by participating in what they created.  Celebrate with them.

  • Success often comes from a closely bound group of friends that create safe space for a chosen family that spends time together and evolves common values.  Energy from this core helps create the broader organization and safe space for others.  Grow the core.

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• Our community and culture come from distant influencers experience shaped by local culture.

  • Influential and active persons traveling from other parts of the country bring culture and traditions to our community.  Some influencers travel broadly and often, connecting our community to others around the country.

  • Leaders and educators from across the country and world bring ideas and culture to our local community.

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• A small number of rude or uneducated people in the community can ruin safe space or damage trust.

  • It can take just one unchecked individual to ruin safe space or lead to the downfall of trust.  One such person can easily metastasize into multiple.  This may be a person that is uninformed or may be someone who is malicious for their own benefit.

    • That is why our community ethics must be enforced.  It is too easy to ignore and sweep things under a rug - but that can easily become a future disaster. Rather, try to guide and educate those who can change.  Ethically isolate those who are malicious in order to protect safe space.

  • Wonderful safe play spaces that are informal and small are often successful due to the trust in those who attend.  If these spaces grow in popularity, becoming more public and populated, then less-trusted individuals often show up.  These individuals do not know the norms and value of the safe space.  They may ruin or eliminate the safe space.  One example in Colorado is Thunder in the Mountains.

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• Things change - Embrace change - Defend safe space.

  • It is important to accept change and evolve to new things within your values. This includes having a purpose, accomplishing, and moving on.​  This includes adjusting a group's policies to address change.

  • It is OK for some organizations to end rather than move forward - for many different reasons.

  • It is OK for an individual to leave an organization that has evolved away from their interests.​

  • Change comes from many sources.  These sources may include:

    • Code of conduct, ethics, honor, brotherhood, standing by one's word - something strong from WW2 changes or fades with broader culture over time.  Different transactional cultures have emerged.

    • Perceived need for safe space changes with broader culture having more acceptance or growing rejection of alternative lifestyles.​

    • The Internet allowing people to connect online.   Less in-person engagement.

    • The 2020 pandemic.  Less in-person engagement.

    • Individual conflicts between good people will happen.  Seek to resolve these as quickly as possible.

    • Unsafe and unredeemable persons (such as narcissists) will emerge, those that care more about themselves than community and other people.  These unsafe people seek their next refuge or hunting ground in your community.  They will inject chaos into safe spaces.  Defend your safe spaces or they will be consumed and disband.

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• Not all venues, groups, and events are welcoming or safe for you.  Why?

  • Some activities forget to think about inclusion and being diverse.

  • A safe space for all may not always be safe for a particular individual.  ​Sometimes "less than full inclusion" is necessary to create safe space for some.  TNG is a great example - making safe space for a younger age range.  Such exclusions makes sense for a private event.  As a group holds events that are more public, inclusion for all becomes necessary.  Hate is never OK.  When we must exclude, do it with compassion and kindness.  See if it is possible to offset exclusive events by also holding or attending other inclusive events.

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• Our safe spaces and activities are precious - support them.

  • Many venues, groups, and events are projects of love of one or a small number of people​.  When they leave, the resource is gone from our community.

  • Most activities are financially fragile.  They need a community to exist.

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• Our artisans are precious - support them.

  • Many artisans give their time and energy to the community.  Support them the best you can.

  • Our artisans need your support to exist.

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Have more ideas to contribute or critique of these thoughts?  Additional information or corrections to the history content? Let us know.  Write head@houseofleatherheart.org.