The man behind the “Straight Pride” rally in Modesto, California accidentally revealed that his group is racist. Whoops!
The Straight Pride rally is due to take place in Modesto on August 24. The city council held a meeting to address the matter on Wednesday, where Don Grundmann, founder and director of the National Straight Pride Coalition, attempted to defend the rally.
“You pulled the race card,” he said to one council member. “You pulled the race card to pull in attacks against us, to justify attacks against us in that park, and when they come you’re going to turn right around and say we deserved it. We haven’t done anything. We’re a totally peaceful racist group.”
The room immediately exploded into laughter and heckling. One council member had to hide her face in her hands and turn her chair around to hide her laughter.
Grundmann tried to save himself, turning to the crowd and explaining: “We’re here to defend all races and colors. I started the WAR alliance – the Whites Against Racism alliance.”
In the end, the city denied the permit for the event, citing safety concerns and the fact that the organizers were unable to get insurance. However, Grundmann told reporters that he will pursue alternate locations and the rally will still go on as planned. A similar Straight Pride event will also take place in Boston on August 31.
One outspoken opponent of the Modesto event, Matthew Mason, is the gay son of one of Grundmann’s co-organizers, Mylinda Mason. He expressed concerns that the group has links to the far-right Proud Boys and that the event is “white supremacy masquerading as straight pride.”
Judging by Grundmann’s accidental slip-up, Mason is absolutely right.
