A Massachusetts chapter of the Communist Party took aim at The Boston Globe on Thursday over its reporting on a lesbian bar that has been criticized for lifting its mask mandate for just one night a week.
asserted
that → take → night
The Boston Globe published an article about Last Ditch, a lesbian bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts, that sparked community backlash after it announced it would be making Saturdays mask-optional.
asserted
Saturdays → publish → backlash
The community responded with accusations of ableism and some even called for a boycott of the business.
asserted
some → respond → business
The Western Massachusetts CPUSA posted a statement on X and on its website calling for solidarity with "the queer and transgender people of our region facing heightened national scrutiny."
asserted
CPUSA → post → scrutiny
On X, the graphic that included the statement suggested the Globe was part of "MAGA Media," saying, "The Boston Globe, an ally of corporate lobbies across the state, stands on the other side.
uncertain
Globe → include → side
After endorsing notoriously transphobic Rep. Seth Moulton’s failed Senate campaign, the Globe has pivoted to courting the outrage of the national extreme right and directing it at our region."
The statement argued the article about the Greenfield lesbian bar was "not newsworthy."
asserted
article → endorse → bar
"The September 22nd article is not newsworthy, except in the context of the upcoming midterm elections in which transgender rights are a central political issue, as well as a far-right national consumer base which makes the scrutiny of transgender lives profitable," it read.
asserted
it → make → lives
"The Western Massachusetts CPUSA rejects the use of conflicts among LGBTQIA+ people and organizations as a tool of division by the extreme right.
asserted
CPUSA → reject → right
We reaffirm our solidarity with all those struggling against the genocide of transgender people," the statement added.
asserted
statement → reaffirm → people
The Boston Globe's director of communications Adam Bagni responded to the criticism in a statement to Fox News Digital.
asserted
director → respond → Digital
"The Boston Globe is locally owned, and our newsroom makes editorial decisions independently, guided by our commitment to fair and accurate reporting," the statement said.
asserted
statement → own → reporting
Some critics accused Last Ditch'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 Globe.
uncertain
critics → accuse → 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.
asserted
commenter → hope → change
"People like you kill disabled people in the name of your own leisure and convenience," wrote another.
asserted
another → kill → leisure
"Just say you’re being complicit in a mass disabling event and get it over with," a third said.
asserted
third → say → it
"When y'all close, let the record state it was ableism + complying in advance, because that's what it is," another wrote.
asserted
another → close → advance
This comes years after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared over by the federal government in 2023.
asserted
pandemic → come → 2023
State and local governments, as well as most businesses across the country, lifted masking requirements several years ago.
asserted
governments → lift → requirements
Additionally, Greenfield had not reported a COVID-19 case in more than two months, according to the Globe.
uncertain
Greenfield → report → Globe
The backlash came as the bar was already struggling financially under its unusual business model, which includes rules such as "Nobody will be barred from entry due to lack of funds.
asserted
Nobody → come → funds
"
"It is with love we inform our immunocompromised disabled divas we will be opening Saturday nights as mask optional," Last Ditch wrote in an August Instagram post that ignited the backlash.
asserted
that → inform → 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.
asserted
We → attempt → us
We understand everyone faces different intersections, and we are always working to consider all needs fully."
asserted
we → understand → needs
On Thursday, the bar called the Globe's article "abysmal journalism" in a post on Instagram.
asserted
bar → call → Instagram
Last Ditch also issued a call for donations and support, saying, "Operating a venue is expensive, especially when prioritizing community over profit.
asserted
Operating → issue → profit
Our owners work on a volunteer basis (that's right, none of our owners receive a wage or salary) so every dollar we receive can be reinvested in Last Ditch to pay employees & performers, restock product, make necessary renovations to the space, advertise, and so. much. more.
asserted
we → work → space
Fox News' Landon Mion contributed to this report.
asserted
Mion → contribute → report
The Aporia
