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By Christianne McCormick
Photos by Christianne McCormick and Monica Silver
June 19, 2023 (Santee) -- The Santee Pride Walk on June 10th was met with an outpour of support despite the City’s conservative culture. This pride walk, organized by the Santee United Methodist Church, attracted so many people from all parts of San Diego that attendants could barely fit along the sidewalks. Nearly all came to support diversity and the LGBTQ+ community, though several protesters also turned out.
Car after car honked to show support of the walk, which began on Edgemont Drive, then proceeded to Cuyamaca Street along Mission Gorge. Some supporters held their rainbow pride flags out of their car windows and sunroofs to show support for the marchers. An estimated 300 people were present for this event, far more than the 50 that organizers originally estimated would participate.
“Up until now it had just been a local event and this year, we thought we would extend it to include a few other churches. Word got around to the community. It’s now mushroomed to I think a lot more than what we thought,” Rob Ridge, a member of the church’s leadership, told ECM.
“We believe in being an open church, welcoming everybody, so it’s the natural thing for us to do,” said Ridge, describing the genesis of their pride walk. “Hopefully this might stimulate more to come out or other gay people to join our church.” He also revealed to ECM that there are two members of the Santee Methodist church who identify with the LGBTQ+ community. “I don’t think there is any other church in Santee that is going to be as open as we are or probably as brave.”
As the crowd gathered before the event officially commenced at 12:30 p.m., ECM spoke with Jaime Pangman, the pastor for Santee United Methodist Church. He explained that within the United Methodist Church acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community is still debated but, “In the state of California and in San Diego the church is welcoming and affirming, so I would like to think that we are as well.” Pangman acknowledged Santee’s right-wing reputation and explained, “We’ll that’s not everybody and we want to make sure people know that they are welcome, they don’t have to be afraid. That there are people here that care about them.”
Considering Santee’s conservative history and recent protests over a transgender woman in a YMCA locker room, ECM asked Ridge from the church’s leadership if they anticipated any counter protests, “I’m sure there will be some today,” he answered. Ridge shared that in the years prior Santee United Methodist Church had received negative comments about the Pride Walk and even shared that his neighbor who identifies as gay was stunned that the church was going to hold a pride walk in Santee. “A pride walk? In Klan-tee?” Ridge relayed.
The pride walk was met with a few counter protestors at the beginning, middle and end of the event. One woman arrived at the beginning of the event equipped with a megaphone and sign that read, “Let God Be True: he is holy, not horny, sinner.” She could be heard while the speakers of the event were presenting. Several attendants came up to her to confront her, some in of them walkers. One Pride Walk attendant flipped her off and the protestor yelled through her megaphone saying that they are “wicked” and that the event was a “wicked homosexual parade.”
“You don’t read your Bible if you did you wouldn’t take your children to this wicked nonsense!” She accused the attendants of watching pornography the night before and then said how dare they all come here in the name of God the day after. “You’re going to burn in hell if you don’t repent,” this protestor yelled. “How many of you molested children, how many of you molested someone else? How many people have you groped today? You think that it is loving to touch somebody without their permission that it is okay to kiss somebody without their permission—It’s unholy! Open up your Bible and obey!” she yelled.
In the midst of this protestor’s rant, Santee Mayor John Minto, a Republican, came up and spoke at the event. “Everybody can be a victim of bias; what we want you to know is that you are welcome here. Just this past week I’ve been the victim of bias because I went on the news, and I promoted this walk. I started getting emails and phone calls from people that were not very happy with that. The only question I could ask them was, `Was I elected to represent only certain community members? Or everybody?’ And I would think that you would agree that I was elected to represent everybody.”
The pride walk attendees began to march after the speakers spoke, heading down towards the direction of Edgemont Drive towards Mission Gorge. The lone protestor shouted to the female identifying attendants as they walked by with the rest of the crowd shouting that they need a man to submit to---a group of women could be heard laughing over her remark.
Those in the pride walk moved along Mission Gorge with their rainbow pride flags in hand, with many people holding signs emphasizing love and inclusivity over bigotry and exclusion. Drivers from their cars could be heard shouting, “We love you!” and smiling as the crowd walked down the street.
The pride marchers were met with a second group of counter protestors that consisted of one woman, a few adolescent boys, and about five men, once the march reached Cuyamaca outside of the Taco Bell and a gas station.
The woman standing in the middle of the group of counter protestors shouted through her megaphone in a sarcastic tone, “You guys are doing such great things for your church, keep marching! You guys are a f**king joke!”
A group of marchers decked out in colorful balloons and sunglasses could be seen engaging with the counter protestors. They stood in front of the counter protestors, shaking their tambourines and twirling their rainbow umbrellas. The woman responded through her megaphone, “These guys have no intention of supporting the gay community! They want to make the gay community look horrible! They don’t give a sh*t about you or your f*cking m
arch and they’re making you look bad!”
Two Sheriff’s deputies parked in the parking lot created a barrier out of caution. The pride walk marchers continued on.
Among the pride walk marchers was Christynne Wood, a Santee resident and transgender woman who was targeted by Santee Parents for Choice back in January for using the locker room that aligned with her gender at the Santee YMCA, as California law allows. A 16-year-old girl claimed that she saw Wood naked in the women’s locker room and said this frightened her. However, at the time the girl made this claim, Wood had fully transitioned surgically. Some news sources incorrectly reported that the teen girl saw a penis during the incident and never posted a retraction for their error.
The incident sparked protests by parents and conservatives at a Santee City Council meeting, as well as a large turnout from the LGTBQ+ community in support of Wood. The YMCA has since reconfigured its dressing rooms to provide privacy for everyone.
Wood came dressed in an outfit of pink and blue representing the colors of the trans flag. She marched with those in the crowd, standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community carrying a large trans flag above her.
ECM asked Wood what her thoughts were on the march. She replied, “It was magnificent art given form, in other words: all ages, all the spectrums, all the faith including non-believers, coming together in the parking lot of a house of worship, all in the name of love, inclusion, and diversity. You know the reputation of Santee, it’s never been known as a terribly liberal enclave now, has it? This is starting to tip the scale like a tsunami like a tidal wave. It’s building and building and building and nothing’s gonna stop it.”
This was Wood’s first time attending Santee Methodist’s pride walk ,but had previously attended pride walks in San Diego. “All around me it was just love, love for each other and love for the cause,” she stated.”It was nothing less than magnificent.”
A mother, retired teacher, and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community who is running for the Santee School Board was also present at the Santee Pride Walk. Monique Silver came with her 12-year-old daughter, Summer Silver, and her brother Josh Knoll. “It was really exciting to see the comradery out there. It just shows the progression of what’s happening out here,” Silver shared. “I know Santee has traditionally been known as a conservative city, but I think there are a lot of people moving out here that are changing the vibe.”
ECM asked Silver if she was surprised to see that an estimated 300 people attended the walk. She said that she wasn’t really surprised. “I think that people understood the importance of the attendance, because it was the city of Santee. People knew that they had to be there.” Silver added, “They had to show Santee that we’re here whether an ally like me or they are part of the LGBTQ+ community. Maybe they have a relative or a friend that’s part of the community. Whatever their reason is, they knew the significance and the importance of their attendance in Santee. So that’s why I think the numbers were high.”
ECM asked Silver how she felt about some of the counter protestors criticizing the parents who took their children to the pride march, since she is a mother of three.
“I think the best thing parents can do is bring their kids to a Pride march because it’s teaching their children acceptance, empathy; it’s teaching their children that there are people different from them or the same as them. There’s nothing negative about it, it’s nothing but a positive message,” said Silver. “Some parents are scared that if they expose their children to gay people or trans people it’s going to turn their children gay. I remember who I had a crush on in grade school and it was who it was; nobody convinced me to like boys; I just did. People just like who they like. Always in my life I always had someone who was gay in my life, and it didn’t influence me, just made me know that there are different kinds of people in the world,” she explained. Silver told ECM that the protestor who made those comments about the parents has a very closed heart and that she hopes that that person finds their way.
Overall, Silver felt that the pride walk “was a great success.” “People came out, they wore their colors, there were tables supplying snacks for kids and adults and flags for all, people were helping each other out. I was actually in my scooter and people were helping me up ramps making sure I got on the sidewalk. Everybody was helping each other’s children, there were a lot of children there. Every event is going to have a few people there that what to show their negativity, but it had absolutely no influence on our vibe and our positiveness,” she concluded.
When the crowd returned to its starting point at the church’s parking lot, they were met with a different protestor standing on the corner with a sign that read “Trust God.” A handful of pride walk attendants confronted this new protestor like they did the first. Fortunately a physical fight didn’t break out.
As the crowd gathered in the parking lot where they had first arrived, one of the attendants walked up the ramped at the back of the church and led the crowd in a final chant: “Love, not hate, makes American great!” Initially, only a few members could be heard chanting, but the volume rose in a crescendo and finally ended in one solid unison from the crowd.
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