A lesbian bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts, sparked community backlash after lifting its mask mandate for one night a week, with accusations of ableism and boycott directed at the struggling business.
Last Ditch Bar and Arts Venue recently removed its mask requirement on Saturdays in an effort to boost business, but some members of the small city’s queer community objected to the change, according to The Boston Globe.
Some critics accused the bar’s owners of putting disabled people at risk and compared the policy change to a “mass disabling event” and a “eugenicist” attack while also wishing violence against the establishment, according to The Boston Globe.
“I hope your venue gets firebombed for robbing my fellow immunocompromised people of their Saturday plans just to scrape extra revenue from ablists [sic],” one commenter wrote on the bar’s social media post announcing the change.
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“People like you kill disabled people in the name of your own leisure and convenience,” wrote another.
“Just say you’re being complicit in a mass disabling event and get it over with,” a third said.
“When y’all close, let the record state it was ableism + complying in advance, because that’s what it is,” another wrote.
“Does COVlD not disable people on Saturday nights?” added another user, who had a picture of himself in a mask as his profile picture.
This comes years after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared over by the federal government in 2023. State and local governments, as well as most businesses across the country, had also lifted masking requirements several years ago.
Additionally, Greenfield had not reported a COVID-19 case in more than two months, according to The Boston Globe.
The bar has been sparsely attended on what would normally be busy Saturday nights as some angered customers have called for a boycott, according to The Boston Globe.
The backlash came as the bar was already struggling financially under to the bar’s unusual business model that includes rules such as “Nobody will be barred from entry due to lack of funds.”
Last Ditch also had the mask mandate in place as part of a policy intended to make the space accessible to disabled and immunocompromised patrons, meaning the face covering requirement was designed to protect anyone who was immunocompromised.
Customers were told that they were expected to mask up unless they were actively taking a bite of food or a sip of a drink.
The bar’s owners began to fall behind on their bills and were unable to pay themselves or even their staff.
Jackie Matellian, the remaining owner involved in daily operations, lived in her truck for six months, working four jobs and carrying a $50,000 loan, according to The Boston Globe.
The two other owners stepped back from daily operations months ago, including one who had enrolled in clown school and another who is a drag performer using it/its pronouns.
Because of the financial woes, the bar decided to lift the mask mandate on Saturdays to increase revenue and keep the business afloat, The Boston Globe reported.
“It is with love we inform our immunocompromised disabled divas we will be opening Saturday nights as mask optional,” Last Ditch wrote on an August Instagram post that ignited the backlash.
The bar first attempted to ease tensions and apologize for its post, writing: “We are sorry for our passive and dismissive tone of our change to the norms and schedule impacting the most intersectional of us. We understand everyone faces different intersections and we are always working to consider all needs fully.”
But that did little to lower the temperature, as critics said Last Ditch’s post failed to include written “alt text,” a short written description of an image added to the HTML code of a webpage for visually impaired people.
“This is not an accessible post,” one person commented. “It indicates the lack of care or interest in Disability intersectionality.”
Last Ditch again sought to address the controversy during its monthly community meeting on Sept. 11, according to The Boston Globe.
Outraged attendees who were joined by Zoom began flooding the chat with comments that were read aloud for the in-person group to hear.
The meeting took another twist when critics made an allegation of racism because the mediator, a licensed therapist, was white.
“A lot of people are calling for an acknowledgment of harm and I’m hearing a WHITE therapist … center[ing] the feelings of a majority white and white adjacent staff,” one person said, the newspaper reported.
Attendees also took issue with a therapist being there at all and said it made them feel “widely unsafe” since that made the woman a mandated reporter, meaning she is required by law to report known or suspected abuse.
Matellian broke down in tears when it was her turn to speak, saying she was only trying to help her friends with the bar before taking over once they left and having a difficult time trying to survive financially.
Matellian has fallen behind on rent and the bar’s landlord wants $3,900 by the end of September.
“It was not my passion project,” Matellian cried while masked up. “I never really wanted this. I don’t think I’m doing a very good job.”
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But the bar’s critics had no sympathy for the struggling business owner.
“You chose to use your time to spill tears and center your feelings,” one person responded. “This is incredibly racist and deflecting behavior.”
The mask-optional Saturday nights have not helped with business, as the barroom has been nearly empty each weekend despite drink deals and DJs that would attract dozens of customers in the past.
One person recently suggested having a Lady Gaga-themed party to pull in more patrons.
“Gaga is canceled,” the bartender said. “Gaga is Zionist.”
