Scabby the giant inflatable protest rat may be banned from picket lines

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-scabby-giant-rat-balloon-union-protest-ban-20190807-fbqnn7rorne75oc2w72wel3ise-story.html

by wallflower • 7 years ago

17 12 7 years ago

chicagotribune.com

SamReidHughes• 7 years ago

That seems... like first amendment protected activity to me. Let’s suppose scabby is outlawed by the NLRB. What’s to stop me, a third party libertarian whackadoodle, from bringing my own rat to other peoples’ strike?

Speaking of which, is this how Scabbers, in Harry Potter, got its name?

qtplatypus2• 7 years ago

The claim that it is menacing or intimidating and so isn’t covered by the first amendment seems nonsensical to me. No rational person expects that the ballon to attack them.

dymk3• 7 years ago

The claim is that the people holding the rat will attack them, and having the rat is to advertise a threat.

qtplatypus2• 7 years ago

By that logic then any picket line could be banned.

jmpman• 7 years ago

Do we then get into a constitutional battle over what feature of a inflatable rat makes it unacceptably menacing? You can’t have three of the following items, sharp claws, red eyes, bleeding cuts, ulcers.

nkkollaw• 7 years ago

"Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries.".

Really!?

inflatableDodo• 7 years ago

I like that they immediately follow that statement with something that is (especially given the time involved since they first started saying it) an obvious lie.

"We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to the EU market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism."

Oh, are you now? Got a bridge to sell me next?

Really makes me feel a sense of trust in a publication's journalistic integrity when they censor themselves abroad and lie about their intentions.

thih9• 7 years ago

Surprisingly, their google amp version doesn’t show that screen.

dymk3• 7 years ago

You just got GDPR’d!

rolal• 7 years ago

For us europeans: https://outline.com/L97Nu4

BuckRogers• 7 years ago

Banning this is extremism and proves the balloons work. I live in Chicago and see the rats. They get important conversations started for everyone about what's going on, wage suppression and class consciousness. If you're not fighting in class warfare, you're losing it, because as we see here the investment class doesn't stop. The labor movement made life better for all of us, so I always support these working class heroes. You know we're losing when we can't even have a balloon because business doesn't like it.

Scabby the giant inflatable protest rat may be banned from picket lines

Related Stories