I love Mel Brooks' The Producers, in which Broadway producers fail in an attempt to lose money to make money when the complete flop they finance, "Springtime for Hitler," turns out to be a hit, despite the play's trivializing of Nazi Germany. Like Hogan's Heroes, the 1960s TV comedy that took place in a Nazi POW camp, Brooks managed to to mine a horrible historical event into some funny. When done correctly, these type of programs can humor and not offend people. When done incorrectly it can invoke fear and hatred, allowing bigots to exploit their hatred.
Recently, in NYC, a Jewish Parks Department worker was offended when he walked into a break room and saw his co-workers conducting a Nazi skit. The article fails to mention whether the skit was a parody as in The Producers, or something more ignorant, such as the Black to the Future skit in Queens 10 years ago, produced by NYC police and fire department officers, that parodied a then recent dragging death of a black man. Somehow, I suspect it was the later. Interestingly, the police officers, who were initially fired by the Mayor when news of the skit made the news (and this was before the YouTube era), were initially re-instated on First Amendment grounds as they did the parody on their own time in a public place, before being fired once again as a higher court ruled that the city was able to fire them as unfit for duty due to the perception they were violating the public trust with their racist act, despite the First Amendment. Some might be tempted to defend the nazi parks department workers on the same First Amendment grounds and argue that parks department workers should not be held to the same speech standards as emergency responders.
However, this was not about free speech, it is about a hostile workplace. The employee felt threatened by his co-workers' action, making for a hostile workplace and, if the sources quoted in the article are accurate, it appears their employer, the Parks Department, agrees. If you want to dress like a Nazi, do it on your own property and on your own time, not your employer's property. Of course, if your employer is the City of NY, or some other government entity, you may have to worry about a perception of a violation of the public trust, but I suspect that racist parks department workers aren't as much a concern as racist police and fire department workers, whose job it is to protect and not harm the public. Freedom of speech applies to the government, not employers (even if they have happen to be the government). Once offensive speech crosses into the workplace, there is going to be a problem.
As to the other ignorant comments associated with the article: I would hope those posters are just trolling but I suspect not. This type of bigotry is not unique to Staten Island. It happens all over the NYC metropolitan area and not just to Jews (just ask some of your minority associates). I suspect this happens all across the country as well. The one thing they all have in common is a basic xenophobic hatred that the actors attempt to camouflage in freedom of speech. This was not a First Amendment issue; it was a hate issue, it was a bullying issue and, since the victim was forced to be transferred, it is more.
One thing for sure, the parks department workers were pretty stupid to do a Hitler parody in a break room on their employer's property. In this day and age, one would think it would be common sense for employees to know they would do best to keep their personal views to themselves. I don't know the intent of the parks department employees so I can't judge without more evidence of whether they thought they were being funny with a co-worker (for all we know it could've been an ongoing joking insult thing that got out of hand) or something more; though since the Jewish employee felt insulted enough to complain and argument can be made that it was the later (if it walks, swims and quacks like a duck it is usually a duck, even if called a dog). However, at the least, these employees really need to read the section of their employee handbook regarding tolerance.
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