Name Bay Bridge for its inventor, Emperor Norton

Open letter to the honorable Mayor and Supervisors of San Francisco:

[ gavin.newsom [at] sfgov.org ]

[ board_of_supervisors [at] ci.sf.ca.us ]


SUN endorses the "Emperor Norton Bay Bridge" proposal,
recently floated in the San Francisco Chronicle.

We further suggest "Emperor Norton Transbay Terminal",
after that facility gets upgraded.

Norton planned the Bay Bridge many decades before it could actually be built, and today his input is modestly marked by a small plaque on our decrepit Transbay Terminal.

Norton is more than a colorful local joke.
He's an example of a disabled person who contributed positively
to our civic life, despite his extreme mental illness.

In one incident, at a rally where white men were trying to incite yet another pogrom against the Chinese community, he took over the podium and recited the Lord's Prayer. This simple action shamed the assembled haters. In 21st-century terms, his prayer made them ask themselves, "What would Jesus do?". So, on that night, no race riot occurred. A ridiculous madman had saved lives.


Norton in the 20th century, via "The Widow Norton", became the symbolic ancestor of queer "court" systems, which build community while raising funds for charities.


SUN
P.O. Box 426937
San Francisco, CA 94142-6937
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28 September 2004
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