A Massachusetts lesbian bar finally relaxed its mask mandate for one night a week. The decision promptly detonated a culture war among its patrons.
Last Ditch Bar and Arts Venue in Greenfield, Massachusetts — which describes itself as “for dykes, transsexuals, gender freaks, workers, and their friends” — had required customers to wear a well-fitted KN-95 mask “or better” at all times. But the struggling bar decided in August to make masks optional on Saturday nights in an attempt to bring in more people.
“It is with love we inform our immunocompromised disabled divas we will be opening Saturday nights as mask optional,” Last Ditch posted on Instagram on August 31.
The reaction was swift. The post drew more than 730 comments, many of them furious.
“Just say you’re being complicit in a mass disabling event and get it over with,” one commenter wrote.
“People like you kill disabled people in the name of your own leisure and convenience,” wrote another.
A third commenter hoped the venue would be “firebombed” for supposedly “robbing my fellow immunocompromised people of their Saturday plans.”
Not exactly the response Last Ditch had been hoping for.
The bar had already been struggling financially. Its owners had fallen behind on bills and couldn’t pay themselves or the people working there.
So the owners decided that perhaps people might like to go to a bar without wearing a KN-95. Apparently, that was a bridge too far.
The backlash became so intense that Last Ditch apologized two days later for its “passive and dismissive tone” toward “the most intersectional of us.” That apology only opened another front.
The Instagram post containing the apology did not include alt-text for visually impaired users, and the audience quickly noticed.
“This is not an accessible post,” one commenter wrote. “It indicates the lack of care or interest in Disability intersectionality.”
By then, critics had turned the simple act of taking off a mask on Saturday into an argument over ableism, eugenics, accessibility, intersectionality, and the proper use of Instagram alt-text.
But the real drama was still to come. Last Ditch held a community meeting on September 11 to discuss the controversy and the bar’s financial problems. About 10 people attended in person, with another 10 to 15 joining by Zoom.
The meeting was supposed to allow everyone to air their grievances. Instead, the Zoom chat became a running stream of complaints that were read aloud to the people in the room.
When a licensed therapist serving as the meeting’s mediator spoke, one critic accused her of “center[ing] the feelings of a majority white and white adjacent staff.”
Others questioned the presence of a therapist at all, speculating that her status as a mandated reporter made her an agent of the state who could potentially have someone hospitalized against their will.
Eventually, the bar’s sole remaining owner, Jackie Matellian, took her turn to speak.
“It was not my passion project,” she said. Later, beginning to cry, she added: “I never really wanted to do this. I don’t think I’m doing a very good job.”
Matellian, who took on the business after the other founders stepped back, told attendees her credit score was trashed, that she had lived in her truck for six months while pouring money into the bar, and that she was working four jobs, the Boston Globe reported.
The response from at least one critic?
“You chose to use your time to spill tears and center your feelings,” the person wrote. “This is incredibly racist and deflecting behavior.”
After three and a half hours, the meeting ended without resolving the dispute. The bar’s landlord has demanded $3,900 in back rent.
Unfortunately for Matellian, the mask-optional Saturday the Globe documented was not exactly the raucous night Last Ditch had hoped for. The dance floor was empty. A handful of people lingered around the bar. The venue offered $10 cocktails and DJs, but the hoped-for crowd did not materialize.
At one point, the lone remaining patron suggested holding a Lady Gaga-themed night. “Gaga is canceled,” the bartender replied. “Gaga is Zionist.”
Last Ditch still requires masks on its other nights and plans to continue holding a monthly masked social.
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