Witch Slapped

Methuselah Bar and Lounge is for sale!

Listing Office: ******** | A rare opportunity to acquire one of Pittsfield's most established and recognizable cocktail destinations. For more than a decade, Methuselah Bar & Lounge has served as a neighborhood gathering place known for its craft cocktails, themed events, live entertainment, and a loyal following. The sale in...

Hey Hey!!! Danielle here!
A reminder that you can visit with your WS community at Pride Festival next week! "Witch Slapped in the Attic" is our theme and you can expect to see a vendor table set up filled with BINS AND BINS of inventory from the store at huge DISCOUNTS! Incense, candles, crystals, jewelry, apothecary supplies, herbs, stickers and more! Get ready to dig in and find your treasures before someone else does! I am so excited to see you my friends! So much love and magic to you all. Danielle

🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️👍🏼

*~VAL HERE.~*

**ARE WE OKAY?
Episode: "The Report, The Report, The Report... Oh Look, Ciara."

I need to make sure I'm following this correctly.

Because I am starting to think I accidentally wandered into an alternate universe where everyone has collectively suffered a head injury.

For years now, Pittsfield has been arguing over a report.
A report involving allegations serious enough to spark investigations.
A report serious enough to require outside investigators.
A report paid for with taxpayer dollars.
A report elected officials can read.
A report the public cannot.
A report that helped reshape School Committee elections.
A report that continues to generate editorials, letters, meetings, arguments, and enough public drama to qualify as its own Netflix category.

And after all this time...

Heidi Riello thinks the problem is Ciara Batory.
Rebecca Thompson thinks the problem is Ciara Batory.
The Berkshire Eagle Editorial Board thinks the problem might also be Ciara Batory.

Guys! Hello?

The report.
Remember the report?
The thing that started the entire conversation?
The thing involving allegations, investigations, public concern, legal opinions, taxpayer dollars, and years of controversy?
That report?

Because every time I think we're finally going to discuss that, somebody bursts through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man screaming:

"YEAH, BUT HAVE YOU CONSIDERED CIARA'S PERSONALITY?"

At this point Pittsfield discusses Ciara Batory the way conspiracy theorists discuss aliens.

She has become the explanation for everything.
Public distrust? Ciara.
Community division? Ciara.
Questions from parents? Ciara.
People wanting transparency? Believe it or not, also Ciara.
I'm honestly surprised nobody has blamed her for potholes yet.
Give it time.
The truly impressive part is watching people perform Olympic-level mental gymnastics to avoid discussing the actual issue.

The conversation starts here:
"What happened in the report?"
Then somehow ends here:
"Let's spend 800 words evaluating a mother's attitude."
How?
How does that happen?

Imagine explaining this to someone from outside Pittsfield.
"Well, there was a major controversy involving our high school."
"Oh wow. What are people most concerned about?"
"The demeanor of a School Committee member."
"...not the controversy?"
"No, no. The person asking about the controversy."
"...not the allegations?"
"No."
"...not the investigation?"
"No."
"...not the report?"
"No."
"...just the lady asking questions?"
"Now you're getting it."

ARE.

WE.

OKAY?

Because anyone who is more concerned about the personality of a mother demanding transparency than they are about the reason she is demanding transparency has completely lost the plot.

The reason Ciara keeps asking questions is the story.
The reason parents keep asking questions is the story.
The reason the report remains controversial years later is the story.
The reason people still don't feel they have answers is the story.
Ciara is not the story.
She is the giant flashing arrow pointing toward the story.
But every week, Pittsfield gathers around the arrow to hold a symposium about whether the arrow is being too aggressive.

Meanwhile the actual issue is standing ten feet away waving both arms in the air.

At this point, if a meteor struck City Hall tomorrow, I fully expect next week's letters section to contain three opinion pieces titled:

"While The Meteor Was Unfortunate, We Must Discuss Ciara Batory's Tone."

And honestly?

The Berkshire Eagle editorial may have accidentally written the funniest sentence of all.

They acknowledge the importance of transparency.
They acknowledge the public interest.
They acknowledge taxpayer concerns.
They acknowledge that the issue reshaped elections.
They acknowledge that Ciara's campaign was fueled by demands for answers.
Then they immediately pivot into concerns about Ciara.
That is the journalistic equivalent of writing:

"The house is on fire. The flames are spreading rapidly. The neighborhood is concerned. However, we must also examine the attitude of the person holding the fire extinguisher."

This feels way too familiar, doesn't it?
RELEASE THE SHEPSTEIN FILES!

With love, confusion, and a growing suspicion that Pittsfield would rather spend ten years discussing the messenger than ten minutes discussing the message,

-Val

** SATIRE WARNING

No mothers, editorials, letters to the editor, school committee members, smoke detectors, meteors, squirrels, arrows, or Kool-Aid Men were harmed in the writing of this satire. Any resemblance to actual civic priorities is deeply concerning and should probably be investigated by an independent committee whose report will never be released.













Berkshire Eagle