Facebook post fans racial flames?

 A rumor was spread on social media that an “Arabic man” at the counter refused service to an Army reservist in uniform. A woman posted a Facebook status telling people that her husband was told that the station wouldn’t sell him gas, and she called for boycotts.

 Some posts, and even online accounts, were deleted over the ensuing media attention. There was also a push back from other posters online, who commented that the post was slanderous.

 One post, titled “Local gas station disrespects our military” is still online, and posted to the WXYZ-TV Facebook page.

 One of the comments below a Facebook re-posting suggested burning the gas station to the ground. Wiliam Ross Tiffany posted: “Bring rifle back, inform Achmed in the US we have anti-discrimination Laws. Ask if he is truly faithful, and ready to fulfil his ‘Submission’ to Allah.”

 Nick Ghalib, originally from Yemen, is the Arab man the posts referred to. He’s a manager who was present on Thursday, when the misunderstanding occurred.

 He was sold out of premium gasoline and likely told the man he’s out of that grade. Ghalib said it was a busy day, and can’t remember if the man was wearing a uniform or not.

 Ghalib is fluent in English, but there can still be a language barrier, said Olivia Polomski, who was also working that day. “It’s horrible to see him being slandered in that way,” she said “It’s horrible to sit there and watch people say those nasty comments. It’s not right, and it’s not fair...If it was a different ethnic group that this is being aimed at, do you think it would matter?”

 She said there were protesters there with guns on Monday. They called the police to make a report of the incident, but protesters left within an hour.

 The response in person has been supportive and apologetic, while they’ve also absorbed vitriolic phone calls, and even negative reviews online.

 According to Snopes.com, this isn’t the first time that this sort of story has circulated, and even hoaxes of a similar sort have been around since the end of the Vietnam War.

 While this wasn’t entirely made up, it was the basis of a misunderstanding that has led to threats to both the business owner and the woman who posted about the issue, according to inquisitr.com.

 The original post blaming the gas station for its disservice to the military was removed, but not before reports of people protesting started to come out.

 Because the woman didn’t post anything about clearing up her misunderstanding, people who had only seen the original post just assumed it was deleted by Facebook and continued sharing screen shots of the original rant. According to reports, she has since removed her Facebook account, following an apology.

 The gas station owner is letting all news media, and concerned callers, know that all are welcome at his shop.

Yvonne Stegall contributed to this story

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