The Hipster Fred Phelps

[DonViejo]

The Hipster Fred Phelps

By Mary Emily O’Hara December 8th 2013 6:45 AM

By day, Portland’s Grant Chisholm sells retro furniture. By night, he stalks the streets railing against the sin of “homosex”

It’s Cyber Monday and Grant Chisholm is manning his retro-cool vintage furniture store, Grant Michael Industrial Antiques, in Portland, Oregon. “A lot of people send me hate mail,” he says. “I just received some hate mail from someone who said they were going to protest my store.” His store doesn’t offer much to protest, unless you really don’t like a “1930's bowling alley wood top repurposed and refinished on an industrial, cotton mill, roll cart base.” Chisholm’s shop, one of two Portland locations (Grandma’s Funky Furniture is the other), brimming with rusted, upcycled signage and worn leather chairs, isn’t the problem. Most of Chisholm’s customers—whom he describes as “pre-yuppies who voted for Obama, movie stars, and homosexuals”—don’t know much about him, aside from his great taste in estate sale finds.

“I know how to turn it on and turn it off,” he says, “I never use my store as a pulpit. That’s just good business. They’re not paying me to tell them about Jesus.”

Grant Chisholm moonlights as a street preacher. According to his sidewalk rhetoric, God hates strip clubs, “homosex”, Catholics, football, and probably most Portland residents. “The bible says Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated,” says Chisholm. “Do I believe that God has the capability of hating? Absolutely.”

Chisholm’s presence is familiar to those working in Portland’s sex industry. A Facebook photo posted by Shon Boulden, owner of Portlandia-featured hipster nudie bar Lucky Devil Lounge, shows Chisholm with a sandwich board slung over his shoulders proclaiming “Jesus Saves From Hell.” The photo collected more likes and views than anything the club had ever posted Lucky Devil dancer Molly Golightly recalls Chisholm’s visit, during which he yelled “God Hates Titty Bars” through a megaphone—while wearing a stylish dark green peacoat.

Boulden, who was raised Christian and played in his church basketball league before entering the strip club business, says sales were up the night of Chisholm’s visit. “I think it was good for business. Patrons and employees thought it was amusing and everyone had kind of a laugh at it.” Boulden says the preachers yelled, “we hope you die from breast cancer” through a megaphone.

full article
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/12/08/the-hipster-fred-phelps.html

[cbayer]

1. I don't care how cool his stuff is, I wouldn't own a stick of it.

[DonViejo]

2. I'm thinking he'll soon be out of business owing to

a boycott, especially now that he's receiving international attention.

[cbayer]

3. Particularly in Portland.

I'm sure he has loyal followers, but I doubt many of them live in his community.

[DonViejo]

5. Exactly! Couldn't happen to a more qualified moron either. eom

Last edited Sun Dec 8, 2013, 04:26 PM - Edit history (1)

[Feral Child]

4. “we hope you die from breast cancer”

I hope he lives after a double nut-ectomy for testicular cancer...

[catbyte]

6. I just can't help but think how much it must suck to be somebody like him

I can't imagine living such a hate-filled life. Or is it fear? Probably both.

[Dawson Leery]

7. Thank you for letting us know about him.

Never buy from him.