The son of the woman organizing Modesto, California’s “Straight Pride” march later this month says the entire event is a “dog whistling” to white supremacy, Yahoo News reports.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , plans are in the works for the Central California city to be the second this year to host a so-called “Straight Pride” parade. The first city to approve such a parade was Boston. In Boston’s case, the event was organized by a group calling themselves “Super Happy Fun America.” Modesto’s, however, is not affiliated with the organizers of Boston’s parade.
In fact, the organizers of Modesto’s parade, Don Grundmann of Santa Clara and Mylinda Mason of Modesto, via the National Straight Pride Coalition, say they have a “far more comprehensive policy” of why Straight Pride parades are needed.
Specifically, they claim that the parade will celebrate not only heterosexuality but also Western civilization and Christianity. “There’s essentially a war between two opposing religions. One is Christianity, and the other is satanism and humanism,” said Grundmann.
According to the Anti Defamation league, such terms are used by white nationalist organizations as code words.
Mason’s 28-year-old son, Matthew Mason, who is gay, agrees. “This isn’t ‘straight pride’. This is hate pride,” he says.
“I am in a unique place to call her out for where she’s coming from, which is white supremacy, and I did not feel like I had the right to stay silent,” Matthew Mason said. https://t.co/pR6qiAG71u
— michelle pemberton (@MichelleRocket) August 6, 2019
Matthew also accuses the parade’s organizers of “dog whistling to white supremacy.”
A “dog whistle,” according to Urban Dictionary , is a type of communication strategy where certain “code words” are used in order to get the attention of certain elements. And the website of the National Straight Pride Coalition is filled with them, according to The New Civil Rights Movement writer David Badash. Those words include “Heterosexuality,” the “God ordained natural nuclear family,” “Masculinity,” “Femininity,” “Babies,” “Western Civilization,” “Caucasians,” “Christianity,” and “Nationalism” — all “dog whistles” to the white supremacist movement, according to Badash.
As for Matthew, he says that he’s afraid of the parade descending into violence. He’s organized a candlelight vigil to oppose the parade.
In Modesto, meanwhile, the planned parade caused considerable rancor at a Wednesday night city council meeting. As Don Grundmann spoke, the crowd booed him, at times leading to Grundmann and attendees shouting over each other.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh_lGykbjg0
Despite strong opposition to the parade from some Modesto residents, the city council would likely be unable to deny the parade simply because they didn’t like what the organizers stand for, said Thomas Reeves, a spokesperson for the City Manager’s Office. “We can’t deny a permit based on values,” he said.
