NationStates Jolt Archive

31 December, 2005

Hospital chiefs have suspended a hospital driver after he impersonated Adolf Hitler at a 1940s fancy dress party.

The Sun shows 55-year-old Stephen Marsham sporting a moustache made from a paper cup and “goose-stepped after workmates laughed that his RAF officer’s costume made him look more like the dictator”.

See, he only gave in to peer pressure.

Apparently, most of the party were having a roaring laugh, but five members of staff at the Xmas party, complained to bosses that he was being racist, so Marsham was sent home “on full pay pending a probe”.

“Last night colleagues accused NHS chiefs of being more interested in political correctness than in tackling their appalling MRSA record at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, in Harlow, Essex,” the Sun bleats.

The tragedy of all this is that Marsham, who has worked at the hospital for five years, had made the effort to hire a blue-grey RAF uniform and peaked cap, but with his hair slicked down and a silly moustache, workmates said he resembled Hitler.

“Everyone thought he looked more like Hitler, so Stephen started giving Nazi salutes and goose-stepping. People thought it was hilarious,” said his wife, Linda.

That news agency is a bit slow - the BBC were covering this two days ago:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/essex/4566400.stm

the BBC were covering this two days ago:
or the Gulf times
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=66799&version=1&template_id=38&parent_id=20

Man sacked for Hitler prank
31 December, 2005
LONDON: A hospital driver was sacked for impersonating Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler at an office fancy dress party, his wife said.

Stephen Marsham, 55, worked at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, northeast of London, and has been suspended on full pay following the 1940s-themed party on November 12.

“It is disappointing that we have lost,” said wife Linda, 54, after her husband’s disciplinary hearing.

“It would have been nice for him to keep his job, it was just a joke.

“We are in our fifties and it becomes harder to find work when you are our age.”

After colleagues joked that his Royal Air Force costume made him look like Hitler, Marsham made a moustache from a paper cup and goose-stepped around the party.

Hospital chiefs suspended him following complaints about alleged racist gestures made in a working area of the hospital.

Linda Marsham said: “He wasn’t dismissed for being racist. He was dismissed because he failed to fulfill orders from his line manager.

“His line manger had been told that Stephen had done this impersonation at the party and had told him to stop it. But Stephen did it again after being warned not to.”

The Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust said Marsham had been sacked for “serious misconduct”, although he had a right of appeal. – AFP

Has the world gone insane with its political correctness? :( Fired for having fun, damn.

Christ on a pogo stick, what's the point in defeating the Germans in war if you can't poke fun at their leaders 60 years after the fact?

I love poking fun at Hitler and the Nazis. Great fodder for light entertainment.

Especially amongst Germans.

Christ on a pogo stick, what's the point in defeating the Germans in war if you can't poke fun at their leaders 60 years after the fact?

I love poking fun at Hitler and the Nazis. Great fodder for light entertainment.

Especially amongst Germans.I was thinking the same thing.

Man if we can't make fun of nazis anymore then I'm going to go back to taunting disabled chldren....

Which race did they imagine he was impugning? Germans? The point has been drilled into us enough, a german is not the same as a nazi. Jews? How does taking the piss out of a murderer harm his victims?

I hope the 5 comfortable people who complained feel proud of the fact they put a colleague on the dole at christmas.:mad:

Elgesh']
I hope the 5 comfortable people who complained feel proud of the fact they put a colleague on the dole at christmas.:mad:


I Truly Do.

I Truly Do.

I'll play along for a bit:)

"why do you feel proud?"

Elgesh']I'll play along for a bit:)

"why do you feel proud?"I think he agrees with you. (most would agree with you anyways.. the nazi card has been overplayed...over and over...)

If people find humor in atrocities - then they deserve what they get.

If people find humor in atrocities - then they deserve what they get.

sigh... firstly, I don't think anyone should be fired for having a poor sense of humour.

More importantly, no one was laughing at a atrocity.

Thirdly, I return to my first point - even if they were laughing at the holocaust (we weren't there, so we don't know - I suppose it is _possible_), it's not a firing offence. It doesn't reflect on anyone's inability to perform their jobs. And what about all those who were laughing and egging him on? According to the logic of the 5 folk (and by extension you) they should all be made unemployed.

Fuck of a price to pay for a joke made at a party.

If people find humor in atrocities - then they deserve what they get. and what do they get?

Elgesh']sigh... firstly, I don't think anyone should be fired for having a poor sense of humour.

More importantly, no one was laughing at a atrocity.

Thirdly, I return to my first point - even if they were laughing at the holocaust (we weren't there, so we don't know - I suppose it is _possible_), it's not a firing offence. It doesn't reflect on anyone's inability to perform their jobs. And what about all those who were laughing and egging him on? According to the logic of the 5 folk (and by extension you) they should all be made unemployed.

Fuck of a price to pay for a joke made at a party.


We weren't there? Where? Please forgive me if I am misunderstanding this - but when you say "we weren't there, so don't know". Please explain.

and what do they get?
To be unemployed.

We weren't there? Where? Please forgive me if I am misunderstanding this - but when you say "we weren't there, so don't know". Please explain.

Well, I'm not aware that anyone sitting here on NS General talking about this was actually at the party, so we don't know what they were laughing at - Hitler, the Nazis, the bloke himself, the situation where you dress up as an RAF officer but end up looking like the guy they're most famous for fighting, or, as you suggest, the holocaust. Unless we were there, we don't know what the laugher was about.

I was, however, allowing, just for instance, that the laughter was at the holocaust - I can't imagine it was, but let's say it was. Even if that was the case, it doesn't seem to me to be a firing offence. Nor did it seem to the NHS to be a firing offence - they sacked the bloke on charges of 'racism'. This is a nonsense, as I said in an earlier post, because no race was impugned.

To be unemployed.all what counts is the final score ;)

the fat lady has yet to sing :D

I think we all know better than those that fired him. Let's all send nasty letters to the hospital till he gets rehired.

If people find humor in atrocities - then they deserve what they get.


They were laughing and making jokes about Hitler. I doubt they were sitting around joking "Hey, remember that guy and how he killed all those Jews? Wasn't that hysterical?"

And if you think its so terrible to be able to laugh at some messed up things, you might want to find a hole to crawl into.

Although, he should have stopped when told to.

And if you think its so terrible to be able to laugh at some messed up things, you might want to find a hole to crawl into.

I don't find anything funny about a madman that murdered 6 million innocent humans. And if that is the only type of humor you find amusing, then perhaps you should crawl out of the hole that you are occupying. Life is awesome and there is plenty to be happy about - plenty to bring smiles and laughter - to rely on 'messed up things' for your entertainment is sad.

I don't find anything funny about a madman that murdered 6 million innocent humans. And if that is the only type of humor you find amusing, then perhaps you should crawl out of the hole that you are occupying. Life is awesome and there is plenty to be happy about - plenty to bring smiles and laughter - to rely on 'messed up things' for your entertainment is sad.
You must be too dull to get what we are saying

There is a difference between laughing at the act and an overblown charicture of a man

By now I would not expect you to understand that though

Now that is humor!

I don't find anything funny about a madman that murdered 6 million innocent humans. And if that is the only type of humor you find amusing, then perhaps you should crawl out of the hole that you are occupying. Life is awesome and there is plenty to be happy about - plenty to bring smiles and laughter - to rely on 'messed up things' for your entertainment is sad.

Did I say its the only type of humor I enjoy? Did I?

I find humor in a lot of things. Some of it real dry and family friendly, some of it pretty dark and twisted. And you know something, laughing at a tragedy is theraputic. Its a very healthy, normal part of growing and moving on.

And if it makes some sad, mentally disturbed peerson, well, I've often said I'm too damned smart to be well adjusted.

So it is 3rd Temple: 0
Rational People: 5

I laugh at sick and wrong things all the time, doesn't mean I condone them. But seriously, when life is crap, sometimes yoiu have to laugh at some of that crap.

Well, you must be right then.

Must be the same 'rational' judgement that went to the 'immediate' aid of the hurricane victims in Louisiana. Seeing those poor bastards kneeling over the inflated stinking carcasses of their loved ones - what a hoot!

Why don't you also keep tabs on those that laughed when the planes flew into the world trade center? Hey - don't forget the Tsunami victims.

If you don't think thats funny enough - go put your Saddam Hussein mask back on - you know - the one you wore for Halloween this year because you didn't get to the shop until after all the Bin Laden costumes were sold out.

Hey - lets not over look the humor in multiple car crashes. Wasn't it you that held up traffic because as you were driving by you were laughing so hard that you lost control of your car and drove into a nursery school filled with children that were crushed from the weight of your pick up truck as it drove over them....

Dude, let's get this straight. Hitler is very easy to make fun of. As are many who did evil acts. I honesly laughed at the Tube Bombers on the 21st of July. A bunch of incompeteent suicide bombers, I found it funny.

Hitler had millions killed. He also had a lousy moustache and a funny walk. Swings and roundabouts (that sounds kinda brush-off I know but it's the easierst explanation).

Dude, let's get this straight. Hitler is very easy to make fun of. As are many who did evil acts. I honesly laughed at the Tube Bombers on the 21st of July. A bunch of incompeteent suicide bombers, I found it funny.

Hitler had millions killed. He also had a lousy moustache and a funny walk. Swings and roundabouts (that sounds kinda brush-off I know but it's the easierst explanation).

I 7th this attitude. Make references to atrocities a huge big offence, and you give the perpetrators power over you. Laugh at the losers who committed these sins and crimes, and you help to lessen their appeal.

55 years old Hospital Driver Fired for impersonating Hitler.

That's good stuff.

Well, you must be right then.

Must be the same 'rational' judgement that went to the 'immediate' aid of the hurricane victims in Louisiana. Seeing those poor bastards kneeling over the inflated stinking carcasses of their loved ones - what a hoot!

What a silly sentient being you are. You take my statement and pull it to its farthest extreme. I think that might be a fallacy.

The subject we are on "laughing about a man who was alive 60+ years ago and did terrible things" not making light of the WTC, or tsunami victims. You are a liberal are you not? Would you ever fight for your country?

Lastly, you make light of these people by calling them "bastards"


Why don't you also keep tabs on those that laughed when the planes flew into the world trade center? Hey - don't forget the Tsunami victims.

If you don't think thats funny enough - go put your Saddam Hussein mask back on - you know - the one you wore for Halloween this year because you didn't get to the shop until after all the Bin Laden costumes were sold out.

When your life gets pulled down the drain, and you are surrounded by death, destruction, sorrow, and sickness, you will find things humourous that you would regularly not laugh at. Now the sad thing is, my life is all right, probably not as good as yours, but it is all right. However I still find humour in somethings that people would never laugh at. Call it sadistic, whatever.


Hey - lets not over look the humor in multiple car crashes. ... you were laughing so hard that you lost control of your car and drove into a nursery school filled with children
Well, I do find [some]car crashes funny, heck AFV finds some of them to be funny.
Must be the same 'rational' judgement
How the hell did you draw my use of "rational" into your anti-bush statement? Two different things: rational people, and rational judgement.

You are a liberal are you not? Would you ever fight for your country? Yes - I most definitely would fight to ensure that my family, friends, neighbors will continue to have the freedom to find rationality and/or humor in any subject they choose - no matter how demented or saddistic. ;)

Yes - I most definitely would fight to ensure that my family, friends, neighbors will continue to have the freedom to find rationality and/or humor in any subject they choose - no matter how demented or saddistic. ;)

But presumably you'd report them and get them fired if ever they made a joke you didn't like? :p

The man doesn't seem to be in anyways harmful to anyone. What about that young prince in UK, who dressed as an Nazi officer, that was more outrageous.

Elgesh']But presumably you'd report them and get them fired if ever they made a joke you didn't like? :p
I rest my case your honor, and thank you Elgesh for helping me prove my point..or it seemed like it.

The man doesn't seem to be in anyways harmful to anyone. What about that young prince in UK, who dressed as an Nazi officer, that was more outrageous.
That wasn't outrageous in the slightest, and nor is this. The only thing outrageous about this is that he was fired for it, and the only thing outrageous about Prince Harry wearing the Nazi uniform was the fuss kicked up about it. What if he'd worn a Soviet uniform? No one would've complained, because the USSR was on our side, despite the fact Stalin was equally as evil, if not more so, than Hitler.

What ever happend to a good humour and tolerance. :(

What ever happend to a good humour and tolerance. :(

Political expediency

Did I say its the only type of humor I enjoy? Did I?

I find humor in a lot of things. Some of it real dry and family friendly, some of it pretty dark and twisted. And you know something, laughing at a tragedy is theraputic. Its a very healthy, normal part of growing and moving on.

And if it makes some sad, mentally disturbed peerson....


Please forgive me - for some reason I missed seeing your post. I totally agree with you. Thank you!

Elgesh']But presumably you'd report them and get them fired if ever they made a joke you didn't like? :p

I never said any where - that I would report him.

I never said this either, but now seems like a good time:

If I had to work with some person that thinks that being outragious as well as disrespectful is the only way to get attention, and like the story said - he had done things like this repeatedly - then my most sincere hope would be that he would learn form the consequences of his actions (being fired for being outlandishly obnoxious) and that it is time for a life change in order to get the most happiness and fullfillment from his time here on earth.

I never said any where - that I would report him.

I never said this either, but now seems like a good time:

If I had to work with some person that thinks that being outragious as well as disrespectful is the only way to get attention, and like the story said - he had done things like this repeatedly - then my most sincere hope would be that he would learn form the consequences of his actions (being fired for being outlandishly obnoxious) and that it is time for a life change in order to get the most happiness and fullfillment from his time here on earth.
Hm, well perhaps I should stop walking around town pretending to be a gay nazi with a pink and black armband tap dancing for spare change and shouting German profanities.

BTW - I drive a Volkswagen. I have for 7 years. It's the best car I have ever had.

And I'd buy another one - without hesitation.

Man if we can't make fun of nazis anymore then I'm going to go back to taunting disabled chldren....

You mean you actually stopped making fun of disabled kids while making fun of nazis??

You mean you actually stopped making fun of disabled kids while making fun of nazis??
You still make fun of disabled children? That was so 1990s.

You still make fun of disabled children? That was so 1990s.

I did then as well. I was also making fun of the Frence sence before it became popular.

It's just a bit of black humour. If people are that pathetic that they'd be offended by something as trivial as that then they really need to get a grip. And they weren't laughing at the holocaust, they were just laughing at an exaggeratedimpersonation of a dictator. Some people obviously don't have a sense of humour. And anybody who would actually report someone for something like that is a complete shit.

or the Gulf times
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=66799&version=1&template_id=38&parent_id=20

Linda Marsham said: “He wasn’t dismissed for being racist. He was dismissed because he failed to fulfill orders from his line manager.

“His line manger had been told that Stephen had done this impersonation at the party and had told him to stop it. But Stephen did it again after being warned not to.”

The Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust said Marsham had been sacked for “serious misconduct”, although he had a right of appeal. – AFP
Let's get this right. According to this woman, your manager has the right to control and dictate what you're allowed to do outside of normal work hours, whilst at a party and if you ignore them just once, they have the right to sack you for “serious misconduct”.
Is it just me, or does this not seem right to you?

And as for The 3rd Temple, I guess you must hate John Cleese, then? His "Wait! I'll do the funny walk!" must really raise your ire.


Speaking of which: Isn't it sad how politically correct we've become that in the space of just 30 years we go from a scene in a comedy that is widely-rated as one of the funniest seen on British television to some poor sod being fired for doing exactly the same thing.

Hey - lets not over look the humor in multiple car crashes.

Hey, did you hear about that one crash that occured because the passenger was giving the driver a blowjob? Now THAT is comedy!

*lol

This 3rd Tenple guy has to be the weirdest troll I've ever seen :D

On topic : That's ridiculous. It was a fancy dress party, and while I don't know enough about the jokes he made to determine if they were bad taste or not, I do believe that they were just that - jokes.
Running of to superiors to snitch on somebody and to get him fired for what can't possibly have been more than a misdemeanour on the other hand it very, very bad taste indeed...