Two patrons were ejected from the Six Flags Great America theme park in Gurnee this week after allegedly striking repeatedly a woman dressed as Porky Pig, police said Tuesday....

Sikalchuk, 19, and Petrychenko, 20, both of Waukegan, denied hitting Porky Pig, police said.

Both were cited for battery and released from custody – and the park.

http://triblocal.com...ail/196128.html

Wh-wh-wh-wh- what's wrong with people?

In all seriousness though, I do feel bad for the employee and glad they were kicked out and hope she is all right.

If you have ever noticed, (and even if you have not), the characters always have a handler with them, to both guide and protect.

One would hope that Cedar Fair would do as Six Flags did, and not only choose to prosecute but also eject the alleged miscreants from the facility.

Merciful heavens! The accused are off duty employees!

...Both men are employees of the park and were visiting on their day off, Gurnee police Sgt. Jon Ward said....

The suspects denied the attack, but witnesses confirmed the story, police said.

The 24-year-old woman inside the mascot costume suffered headaches and a stiff neck, but did not require hospitalization, Ward said.

The sergeant said the mascots are accompanied by a security guard, and attacks on mascots happen once or twice a year....

Article is here

That burns me up. All the bad events at SF lately, really make me wonder what is going on with that chain. Throwing them out of the park is one thing, but they ought to have their birthdays taken away among other things.

I wonder who they impressed with this macho act? Such manly bravery must somehow reward their desire for praise and respect. Perhaps they are sufficiently satisfied with the outcome of their deed and, with wisdom gained from the experience, can move on up to stealing lunch money or stuffing geeks into lockers.

Sigh.

That burns me up. All the bad events at SF lately, really make me wonder what is going on with that chain.

It's not SF's fault that people are idiots.

This is, unfortunately, nature of The Beast.

Surprise, surprise, guess who lost their jobs? And got banned from the park?

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/07/15/Porky-Pig-attackers-fired/UPI-19541279227195/

And now they get to have fun telling potential future employers exactly why they were fired from their previous job...

I hope these two idiots are happy with themselves.

...and they still face criminal charges, and probably will be convicted if things are as they seem...

With the rather unique names they have, Google will not be their friend in the future even if their convictions, should they be convicted, are some day expunged. Newspaper archives, which used to live in the backs of libraries, if anywhere, are now freely available....for years.

And now, copycats....Benny The Bull Mascot Attacked:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/2505624,CST-NWS-bennybull17.article

(The man in the suit declined to file a battery complaint....that would not have been my decision...sigh)

Have you heard? Anybody who's anybody knows that the coolest thing to do now—at least in the lawless cesspool of the northwest suburbs of Chicago—is to beat up a mascot at an amusement park. Random assault fever—catch it!...

http://deadspin.com/5589262/hot-new-trend-sweeping-through-suburban-chicago-beating-the-crap-out-of-mascots

Wow... getting assaulted for doing your job.

And now IHOP Mascot Attacked:

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/08/04/1555805/ihop-mascot-suzie-pancake-assaulted.html

http://guyism.com/2010/08/ihop-mascot-gets-assaulted-outside-restaurant.html

Apparently, this is a global phenomenon....

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/841908/video-shows-nrl-fan-assaulting-mascot

IHOP has a mascot?

The danger comes with the job, here is the description from CP. (I bold text the warning section).

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/jobs/summer/descriptions.cfm

402 Costumed Character (Must be 4'8'' - 5'2'' tall - BFOQ)

* Description:

Fully-costumed characters, who perform, greet guests and interact with children throughout the park.

* Qualifications:

Must be 4?8? - 5?2? (BFOQ) Previous experience in children?s theatre, recreation, education, costumed character performance or related work is helpful. Must be physically able to handle the demands of working in full body costume: i.e. work in very hot conditions; move ?freely? with limited peripheral vision in an oversized costume; handle over-zealous actions from unruly guests (though we attempt to protect the characters to the best of our abilities); etc.