SF Castro District reacts to Colorado mass shooting with anger, pain, sadness; 'It just never stops'
SAN FRANCISCO -- Emotions ranged from anger to sadness at the corner of Market and Castro over the LGBTQ nightclub shooting in Colorado Springs.
Among the crowd of mourners who came to Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro Sunday evening was a drag queen who decided to honor the victims and fight back in her own way.
"It just never stops, it feels like every step that we make forward, the more progress we make, the harder people push back, and it's all based on fear, the hatred is about fear, people that they don't understand, people that they think look different than them," said Sister Roma.
Club Q promoted a "Drag Divas Drag Show" on Saturday. It also planned to hold a drag brunch and show on Sunday for Ttransgender Day of Remembrance.
Sister Roma has been a drag activist and entertainer for more than 35 years in San Francisco. She said she knows she doesn't have to leave the city to find people who aren't thrilled with the queer community.
"I do a lot of really big public events." Sister Roma said. "I'm on the main stage of San Francisco pride, and you kind of have in the back of your mind, gee, I wonder if anything crazy is going to happen, but we can't let the terrorists, and that's what these people are, stop us from being our authentic and true selves. Like I said I got up today and I did this, to sort of say... you to these people."m
The LGBTQ community including Senator Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, came together to comfort one another and call for action.
"I am [expletive] mad, this is enough already, enough," said Alex U. Inn, Co-Founder of the People's March. "We can put enough sorrow in words to the people, but what does that do."
Some speakers urged people to vote to seek change.
When Sister Roma learned of the news Sunday morning, she made a choice.
"What can I do? I knew that I had plans to serve Thanksgiving meals to people on streets today, and I just said I'm going to get up and I'm going to get in my gorgeous fabulous drag... I'm going to go out and be the biggest, gayest, annoyance to these people -- any person who wants to pick up a gun, or raise a fist or pass legislation against me, this is for you," she said.
A lot of people in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood said that, unfortunately, they were not surprised. They said there's too much hate speech targeting the LGBT community.
RELATED: Nightclub shooting in Colorado Springs leaves at least 5 dead
It was one of the main topics at Moby Dick, a gay watering hole on 18th Street in the Castro. The bartender said he came to work with a sense of heightened awareness.
"Sometimes, when I'll be working, I'll see someone that will come in and just walk straight back to the bathroom and not look at me or whatever and just keep walking. That triggers something in the back of your head. I'd certainly keep an eye out for when that person re-emerges and make sure everything is alright," bartender Patrick Bowers said.
Many LGBT community members say they feel vulnerable, even in the Bay Area.
"It's scary and it's devastating," Kyle Chu said.
Chu was threatened by a group of men, believed to be part of the Proud Boys, back in June at a San Lorenzo library.
Chu, who goes by the stage name of Panda Dulce, was doing a drag queen book reading event when the men stopped her, threatened her and called her a pedophile.
Even though Colorado Springs police are still investigating the motive for the Club Q shooting, Chu blames hate speech for the violence.
"This is the inevitable outcome of vilifying and dehumanizing a group of people. We're targeted due to misinformation about who we are," Chu said.
LGBT community leaders blame right-wing extremists for fanning the hate.
"The political rhetoric, attacking our community, has consequences. It fuels hate and violence," Wiener said.
He wants social media platforms to do better to remove hateful content.
"We live in a violent country right now and leaders are propagating that violence," said Suzanne Ford, interim executive director of San Francisco Pride. "The resiliency you're going to see from our community -- we're not going anywhere."
Chu hopes one day LGBT community members can feel safe being who they are.
"At this point, I'm just mad. Enough is enough!"
KPIX Reporter Betty Yu contributed to article