Is there bigoted immigrant gas station owner in Michigan who refuses to do business with members of the American armed forces? Well… no, but that didn’t stop people from passing on a call to boycott it. Before you hit “share” on an angry call to boycott a business, consider whether the precipitating incident could be a huge misunderstanding.

That’s what the manager of the Mobil station in question says happened two weeks ago. However, before his version of events could circulate, the story was already circulating on social media, leading to calls for a boycott and even a protest in front of the station.

Here’s the account of what happened that was passed around on Facebook and has now been deleted.

LOCAL GAS STATION DISRESPECTS OUR MILITARY, BUT HAS NO TROUBLE ACCEPTING OUR DOLLARS ~~ THEY SHOULD BE CLOSED DOWN
BOYCOTT BOYCOTT BOYCOTT BOYCOTT…
Jason had to report to the army reserves yesterday, on his way home he stopped to get gas, a drink and some jerky. When he went into the gas station and got to the counter the Arabic man looked at Jason, then his uniform and told him ‘we dont serve gas here.’
Mobil gas station off [address redacted] We will never be a customer of a place like that!

The manager of the Mobil counters that what he actually told this customer was that the store was out of premium gasoline on that day. The tank was below 375 gallons, and at that point stations are instructed not to sell until another delivery comes. He also wonders whether there might be a language barrier issue. The manager immigrated from the Middle Eastern country of Yemen twenty years ago and is fluent in English, but sometimes problems still happen in conversation.

However, the inflammatory story took off across the Internet, with posters threatening violence and arson against the store and the employee. The woman who posted the original account hasn’t just taken it down: she has deactivated her Facebook account and apologized.

While stories of individuals and businesses treating soldiers badly have circulated since the Vietnam War, most people today accept that members of the armed services still deserve respect and thanks even when the conflicts they served in are unpopular.

Gas station incident ignites on social media [Clarkston News]
Facebook post fans racial flames? [TC Times]

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