Paranoid owner of woke Mass. lesbian bar puts big restrictions on mask-free Saturday over infiltrator fear

The first mask-free Saturday since a Massachusetts lesbian bar went viral for descending into a catty culture war was nearly canceled after its last remaining owner claimed the venue was being “infiltrated.”Greenfield’s Last Ditch Bar caused an uproar when it broke the news last month to its “immunocompromised disabled divas” it was lifting its mandatory mask policy for just one night a week in a bid to boost business — six full years after the COVID-19 pandemic.More than one dozen patrons gathered at the door shortly after 7 p.m.for a “goth night” with underground DJs “Hannibal Directive” and “Puppy Synthesis” were turned away and told to come back at 10 p.m.

because staff was holding a last-minute emergency meeting.Most hadn’t gotten the memo about theme.When they did, the by now nearly 100 people rushing to get in were promptly informed by the financially struggling establishment that because of unspecified “safety breaches,” the mask-free dance night they’d been eagerly anticipating for the past three hours was now a private event — and that if they couldn’t name someone they knew inside, they were being 86’d.Patrons also had to hand over their ID to staff as a supposed “security measure,” and could only pick it up on the way out.Despite the outcry about the decision to go mask-free one night a week by those who called it a “mass disabling event” and a “eugenicist” attack, on Saturday fewer than a dozen patrons were masked.“It just feels off-putting,” said Pete, 43, who lives in nearby Northampton, the city that’s been labeled “Lesbianville, USA,” of wearing a mask.A woman, who goes by “they/them” pronoun, came “for the vibe” regardless, but was “happy that I didn’t have to wear a mask,” calling the controversy “ridiculous.” The crowd danced to techno pop music on the black and white checkered dance floor that had a stripper pole in the middle, as anime cartoons played on a projecto...