MODESTO, CA (KCRA/CNN) – A California pastor addressed the Charlottesville, VA, white nationalist rally during his Sunday service, saying “there’s a bunch of stupid white people.”
While doing a baby dedication, Pastor Glen Berteau, who leads the non-denominational church House Modesto, felt compelled to speak out after the weekend rally and violence.
"Saying you're going to use the word of God to hate somebody of a different color, you’ve got to be the dumbest person that's on this Earth to go ahead and say something like that. There's a bunch of stupid white people, I'm just telling you,” Berteau said in the sermon.
A Facebook video of the speech, posted Monday, has since gone viral. Berteau has received thousands of comments on the post, thanking him for what he said.
"Could I have chosen a better word? Possibly,” Berteau said. "What I said was very honest, and I think it was something that needed to be shouted.”
The pastor says he’s frustrated with the hate in America, including several recent hate incidents in Northern California.
According to California’s attorney general, the number of hate crimes in the state increased about 11 percent last year. More than half were based on the victim’s race or ethnicity.
"And I think that's what I was frustrated with in the sense that, America, have we not gone far – have we not progressed at all?" Berteau said.
People from across the country have been calling for more voices like Berteau’s, and he hopes everyone will be able to take something from the video.
"I really would love to see unity established and us to lay down our hatred,” the pastor said.
So far, Berteau’s Facebook post has received nearly 4 million views.
Copyright 2017 KCRA, The House, CAIR, Davis Islamic Center, Facebook via CNN. All rights reserved.
