Pluto is a Planet Protest

Last week, the International Astronomical Union ruled that Pluto was not a planet.
Obviously, they are wrong. Not one to sit around and stand for injustice, I was determined to protest this decision in public.
With help from Mister P. in making the large sign, Martin for help document, and my daughters, Zoe & Mira, for moral support, I made my protest.

Pluto is a Planet Protest from Michael Pusateri on Vimeo.



I began my protest on the street corner of Fair Oaks and Mission in South Pasadena, near my home.

Martin makes a valid point. If Pluto is vulnerable, what’s next?

I convinced this group of teenagers to help with the protest. They saw the truth in my message.

Next, Martin and I decided to spread the word into Downtown Pasadena, where there was a lot more foot traffic.

People were a little surprised but also happy and amused to see our public protest.

Overall, a hugely positive response to the protest. People were laughing and smiling constantly. Tons of horn honks, waves, and thumbs up. The one thing I didn’t expect was how tired my arms got holding the small sign over my head. Next time, I need a headmounted sign…

Author

19 thoughts on “Pluto is a Planet Protest”

  1. You know, I bet you could get on KROQ for this if you wanted. Kevin, from the Kevin and Bean Show, loves Pluto. They have been talking about this quite a bit the past few days.

  2. Well pluto was downgraded to a “dwarf” planet. So in reality it is still a type of planet. Just not one of the main planets which can and do clear objects from it’s path.
    I have to agree with the IAU for downgrading this object.
    Problem was that other objects were being found larger than pluto, do you add them as planets?
    The only reason to leave it be is for historical reasons. Clyde Tomboaugh was one hell of an astonomer. And while pluto may not have been the planet “X”, it was the first discovery of an object in the Kuiper belt. Not so shabby.
    Another reason might be the text books that need to be rewritten. Ouch!
    I consider myself an amature astonomer, and have actually observed pluto.
    Perhaps your protest is now Disney’s Pluto (the dog) will now be less popular? Persoanlly I do not think you have anything to worry about.
    No longer playing UO, and now living in Reno, NV.

  4. Dude, you are just inches away from being the crazy guy that wears the tin foil hat and stands outside of the Whole Foods wearing flip flops in the rain. In all seriousness, it’s nice to see you outside instead of camped out in front of WOW, at least for one afternoon.
    Peace.

  6. Mike,
    We are sorry we missed it, but we were camping.
    Knowing that intersection in SouthPas, I’m surprised there weren’t some counterprotesters on the opposite corner with signs like “End Planetary Entitlements” or “If You Can’t Trust Me to Move Objects out of My Path, How Can You Trust Me With Planetary Status?” Or something.

  7. GORDIE: Alright, alright. Mickey’s a mouse. Donald’s a duck. Pluto’s a dog. What’s Goofy?
    TEDDY: Goofy’s a dog, he’s definitely a dog.
    CHRIS: He can’t be a dog. Wears a hat and drives a car.
    VERN: God, that’s weird. What the hell is Goofy?

  12. Thank you for helping us fight the scientific “community” and their so-called “knowledge.” I know for a fact that my high school chemistry teacher had an affair with the Spanish teacher in eight grade! So much for their “high standards.”

  13. I love the fact that you did this. The girls will always remember the fun experiences provided by their dad.

  14. Pluto is a large Kuiper Belt Object with a binary partner and an eccentric orbit and nothing more. You’ll all get used to calling it a “dwarf planet” or “icy planetoid” in time, just the same way people got used to knowing that the Earth is round and that the sun is the center of the solar system.

  15. MIKE RESCUES MOM’S BLOG!

    My son is a super hero! Besides standing up for ousted planets, and flying here and there to make this world a better place, he stops for a moment to bring my blog back to life. Thank You Mike! I…

  19. What’s In A Name?

    The other night Pete and I watched a wonderfully entertaining program on CSpan. It featured a talk by Neil deGrasse Tyson who was talking about his newest book, The Pluto Files. The auditorium at the American Museum of Natural History…

Comments are closed.