Smartphone Video Of Park Ranger Dancing Gets Him Fired

Smartphones have completely changed the way we as a society operate. In days gone by, if we wanted to photograph something, we needed to bring a camera along. If we wanted to videotape something, we had to lug around a camcorder that resembled more bazooka than video camera. But now, thanks to everything going smart, all we have to do is whip out our smartphones and we have camera, video recorder, audio recorder, and more all in one handy little device. Please don’t misunderstand me – I am all for smartphones and smart technology – sometimes, though, it seems like they may cause just as many problems as they solve.

Deryl Nelson was a park ranger in Chattanooga, Tennessee, up until he was recently fired because of a video someone captured with their smartphone. Because of his tendency to have fun and sometimes dance along with guests at the park, (to the Macarena and other dances) he became affectionately known around the area as the “dancing park ranger”. There are worse names to be known by.

His dancing status was all well and good until a mom brought her kids to the park and noticed his “dancing”. In statements to the news media, she reported that he was dancing inappropriately and touching body parts that would only be touched in an R rated movie. Because she was so offended by his dance moves, she pulled out her smartphone and took video of the whole performance. She then complained to the department of public works, and the dancing park ranger was fired for “conduct unbecoming of an employee”.

She also released the video footage to her local news who ran a story on him – they also asked several people to watch the video and share their thoughts. Most agreed that his dancing wasn’t at all inappropriate and that he shouldn’t have been fired. (I watched the video as well and saw nothing I would call inappropriate). It looked like he was just having a good time doing what he loved to do – should he have been fired for it?

What do you think? Let us know your thoughts regarding this story in the comments section below! (I should add that Nelson is trying to fight his termination).

If you’d like to view the video, you can watch it below.

[Image via NYDailyNews]

SOURCE: Yahoo