From Wikipedia
Frank Chu (born 24 March 1960) is one of San Francisco's best-known eccentrics. His street protests against US Presidents, corporations, and a distinctive concept he calls the “12 Galaxies” have been held in San Francisco and nearby locales since at least 1995.
Chu lives in Oakland, California and commutes daily to San Francisco where he can find the largest audience of passers-by and television news crews to share his thoughts with. He supports himself through a combination of state aid, sign sponsorships, and small donations from his supporters.
Frank Chu protests daily, or nearly daily, typically walking throughout the daytime hours in downtown San Francisco (particularly along Market Street and Montgomery Street[3]) holding one of his signs, and occasionally supplementing this with spoken remarks on similar themes. He is also known to protest elsewhere, for instance in downtown Oakland and at the University of California, Berkeley campus.
Chu will deviate from his usual rounds in the pursuit of a larger audience, and he is frequently seen at street fairs and protests. Although he claims to be a Republican himself,[1] he seems equally at home at protest demonstrations representing all shades of political opinion. Occasionally, people who oppose a protest group will single out Chu as an example of the protest group's incoherent message not realizing that he is not protesting on the same terms as the other protesters in the group.[4]
Although the form of Chu's actions is that of a picket-sign-carrying protester, it is misunderstood if interpreted merely as a protest or picket. He sometimes refers to "a live performance of my protest" rather than simply "my protest."[5]
Chu also likes to appear in the news media, and will try to position himself in view of television news cameras and to offer himself to be interviewed. He pays close attention to the local news media scene and keeps tabs on where he has received good coverage. He will depart from his usual parade ground to attend media-magnet events, for instance the Scott Peterson trial[6] or the BALCO grand jury hearings[7] or the court case deciding on the timing of the California recall election.[8]
Frank Chu's variety of protest is nearly unique, but not entirely without precedent. Daniel Pratt, "The Great American Traveler," wandered incessantly, lecturing about "The Four Kingdoms" and "The Solar System," obsessing about U.S. presidents and complaining about being deprived of his fairly-won fame by the powers-that-be. He was characterized by his incoherent speech and his made-up words, sometimes formed by what appeared to be squishing other words together haphazardly or with a method known only to him. He was widely thought to be insane, but was humored and honored in a tongue-in-cheek fashion by young wiseacres.
Chu's eccentricities are also reminiscent of San Francisco icon Emperor Norton. Like Norton, Chu is embraced by the city, and he dines and drinks for free at various city establishments.[citation needed]
Make your own sign here: http://acme.com/chumaker/
Frank Chu (born 24 March 1960) is one of San Francisco's best-known eccentrics. His street protests against US Presidents, corporations, and a distinctive concept he calls the “12 Galaxies” have been held in San Francisco and nearby locales since at least 1995.
Chu lives in Oakland, California and commutes daily to San Francisco where he can find the largest audience of passers-by and television news crews to share his thoughts with. He supports himself through a combination of state aid, sign sponsorships, and small donations from his supporters.
Frank Chu protests daily, or nearly daily, typically walking throughout the daytime hours in downtown San Francisco (particularly along Market Street and Montgomery Street[3]) holding one of his signs, and occasionally supplementing this with spoken remarks on similar themes. He is also known to protest elsewhere, for instance in downtown Oakland and at the University of California, Berkeley campus.
Chu will deviate from his usual rounds in the pursuit of a larger audience, and he is frequently seen at street fairs and protests. Although he claims to be a Republican himself,[1] he seems equally at home at protest demonstrations representing all shades of political opinion. Occasionally, people who oppose a protest group will single out Chu as an example of the protest group's incoherent message not realizing that he is not protesting on the same terms as the other protesters in the group.[4]
Although the form of Chu's actions is that of a picket-sign-carrying protester, it is misunderstood if interpreted merely as a protest or picket. He sometimes refers to "a live performance of my protest" rather than simply "my protest."[5]
Chu also likes to appear in the news media, and will try to position himself in view of television news cameras and to offer himself to be interviewed. He pays close attention to the local news media scene and keeps tabs on where he has received good coverage. He will depart from his usual parade ground to attend media-magnet events, for instance the Scott Peterson trial[6] or the BALCO grand jury hearings[7] or the court case deciding on the timing of the California recall election.[8]
Frank Chu's variety of protest is nearly unique, but not entirely without precedent. Daniel Pratt, "The Great American Traveler," wandered incessantly, lecturing about "The Four Kingdoms" and "The Solar System," obsessing about U.S. presidents and complaining about being deprived of his fairly-won fame by the powers-that-be. He was characterized by his incoherent speech and his made-up words, sometimes formed by what appeared to be squishing other words together haphazardly or with a method known only to him. He was widely thought to be insane, but was humored and honored in a tongue-in-cheek fashion by young wiseacres.
Chu's eccentricities are also reminiscent of San Francisco icon Emperor Norton. Like Norton, Chu is embraced by the city, and he dines and drinks for free at various city establishments.[citation needed]
Make your own sign here: http://acme.com/chumaker/
