Why do you feel sorry for someone who is in a position of power & is using that to abuse a former employee?
Do you think one negative Yelp review is going to ruin the owners' lives or livelihood, and that is a more serious concern than following the health code? If the place had been up to code, or the employee's concerns had been allayed, this whole situation could have been avoided, and that's the better way to deal with the situation, compared to police intimidation and hang up calls.
As I said, the law enforcement involvement is wrong, but I don't blame the parlor owner for trying to do SOMETHING.
Not everyone owns a business, especially one that takes the hard work and makes as little money as something like a typical pizza parlor (there's a reason why they're notorious for not lasting long).
So imagine you hire someone to do some work for you, say just odd jobs around your house like fixing faucets, repairing some shutters. You go out of your way to hire someone who could use a break. For some reason it doesn't work out, say he ends up breaking more shutters than he fixes -- so you let him know that you no longer want him to do odd jobs for you.
Now the guy gets pissed and makes it his mission to start messing with you. He's calling your boss/employer, he's driving by your house and telling your neighbors what an a-hole you are, and all around trying to make your life hell because you didn't like the work he was doing for you. It begins to impact your job, maybe costs you a raise or promotion because it's viewed that you're now part of the problem.
Be careful. You're assuming here that the pizza parlor actually was breaking the health code, and the pictures haven't been doctored or altered in some way.
In the US criminal system one is innocent until proven guilty in a court of peers, not accused in a kangaroo court of internet denizens.
In the US criminal system one is innocent until proven guilty in a court of peers, not accused in a kangaroo court of internet denizens.
This is completely backwards. The only one who got (unwarranted IMHO) attention from the criminal justice system was the Yelp user. In the USA, as well as in every other location where free speech is valued, the owner of the pizza dive is just going to have to put up with the accusations of internet denizens.
As I see it, the pizza parlor is being accused by the former employees of sanitation issues that break the local health code ordinances.
The situation regarding the officer is unfortunate, but I fail to see where a real overreach occurred on her part (despite PopeHat's claim).
From the pizza parlor owner's POV, a former employee is harassing him online and having a negative impact to the business--especially if the claims by the former employee cannot be corroborated.
...if the claims by the former employee cannot be corroborated.
Corroborated by whom? The King of the Internet? Health code violations are investigated by local officials hired for that purpose. For all I know, no such officials have even heard of this kefuffle, but they certainly don't care about what some guy posted on Yelp. Even if a health inspector made an extra inspection on the basis of this, it isn't a hardship to be inspected, so no one can complain.
Assuming you are or know the owner of this pizza dive, no one is "harassing" you by posting a review of your crappy restaurant. If any particular review contains statements which are propositions of fact (not opinion!) and if you can prove those propositions are false (not merely if the reviewer can't prove them true), then you might have a civil case for defamation/libel/whatever.
If you're a USA citizen, this shouldn't be news to you. We have something called the First Amendment, and this is how it works.
Please come down off the throne, oh king of the Internet, and join the world around you.
/s
For all I know
Of course the claims would need to be corroborated by local health officials in order for circumstance to be verified. Also, defamation and deciet to punish a bad employer via libel are not protected speech, even if posted online.
Look, I agree with you, the pizza parlor guy seems to have had it coming to him, and is acting pretty seedy from the POV of PopeHat. But this could also be something innocuous that a burned former employee is blowing out of proportion. And we're whipping up an Internet mob. Dude seems like a crook, but that don't make him one, even if we think it quacks like it.
Comments
Why do you feel sorry for someone who is in a position of power & is using that to abuse a former employee?
Do you think one negative Yelp review is going to ruin the owners' lives or livelihood, and that is a more serious concern than following the health code? If the place had been up to code, or the employee's concerns had been allayed, this whole situation could have been avoided, and that's the better way to deal with the situation, compared to police intimidation and hang up calls.
position of power
As I said, the law enforcement involvement is wrong, but I don't blame the parlor owner for trying to do SOMETHING.
Not everyone owns a business, especially one that takes the hard work and makes as little money as something like a typical pizza parlor (there's a reason why they're notorious for not lasting long).
So imagine you hire someone to do some work for you, say just odd jobs around your house like fixing faucets, repairing some shutters. You go out of your way to hire someone who could use a break. For some reason it doesn't work out, say he ends up breaking more shutters than he fixes -- so you let him know that you no longer want him to do odd jobs for you.
Now the guy gets pissed and makes it his mission to start messing with you. He's calling your boss/employer, he's driving by your house and telling your neighbors what an a-hole you are, and all around trying to make your life hell because you didn't like the work he was doing for you. It begins to impact your job, maybe costs you a raise or promotion because it's viewed that you're now part of the problem.
So you do nothing?
This is not a good analogy given what happened according to the article.
Be careful. You're assuming here that the pizza parlor actually was breaking the health code, and the pictures haven't been doctored or altered in some way.
In the US criminal system one is innocent until proven guilty in a court of peers, not accused in a kangaroo court of internet denizens.
In the US criminal system one is innocent until proven guilty in a court of peers, not accused in a kangaroo court of internet denizens.
This is completely backwards. The only one who got (unwarranted IMHO) attention from the criminal justice system was the Yelp user. In the USA, as well as in every other location where free speech is valued, the owner of the pizza dive is just going to have to put up with the accusations of internet denizens.
As I see it, the pizza parlor is being accused by the former employees of sanitation issues that break the local health code ordinances.
The situation regarding the officer is unfortunate, but I fail to see where a real overreach occurred on her part (despite PopeHat's claim).
From the pizza parlor owner's POV, a former employee is harassing him online and having a negative impact to the business--especially if the claims by the former employee cannot be corroborated.
...if the claims by the former employee cannot be corroborated.
Corroborated by whom? The King of the Internet? Health code violations are investigated by local officials hired for that purpose. For all I know, no such officials have even heard of this kefuffle, but they certainly don't care about what some guy posted on Yelp. Even if a health inspector made an extra inspection on the basis of this, it isn't a hardship to be inspected, so no one can complain.
Assuming you are or know the owner of this pizza dive, no one is "harassing" you by posting a review of your crappy restaurant. If any particular review contains statements which are propositions of fact (not opinion!) and if you can prove those propositions are false (not merely if the reviewer can't prove them true), then you might have a civil case for defamation/libel/whatever.
If you're a USA citizen, this shouldn't be news to you. We have something called the First Amendment, and this is how it works.
Please come down off the throne, oh king of the Internet, and join the world around you.
/s
Of course the claims would need to be corroborated by local health officials in order for circumstance to be verified. Also, defamation and deciet to punish a bad employer via libel are not protected speech, even if posted online.
Look, I agree with you, the pizza parlor guy seems to have had it coming to him, and is acting pretty seedy from the POV of PopeHat. But this could also be something innocuous that a burned former employee is blowing out of proportion. And we're whipping up an Internet mob. Dude seems like a crook, but that don't make him one, even if we think it quacks like it.