The impact of social media was evident in Bogalusa after a message posted on Facebook prompted rapid and widespread calls for the boycott of a local store, and a small group of people assembled outside the establishment waving American flags and telling their story to passers-by.
Inside, Savi, the East Indian owner of SP Truck Stop, the former Duval’s located across LouisianaHighway 10 from the American Legion Home, was upset and confused.
The Facebook message was a forward from a woman who sent a mobile phone message claiming that her husband was in line at the store and heard a uniformed member of the National Guard told “We don’t serve your kind.”
Savi said she has never refused to serve anyone unless they did not have proper identification for a controlled item.
She said she believes that the person who thought he heard the refusal of service must have heard wrong. For example, maybe the military man asked for a brand of cigarette and was told, “We don’t sell that kind here,” and was upset that he would have to make another stop.
All-American Kirk Triplett, who walked in to make a purchase, said he was a “regular” and verified what Savi said.
“They’ll take anybody’s money,” he said, laughing. “They’re nice to everybody here.”
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The Daily News reported in a subsequent article that efforts to locate the National Guardsman who had allegedly been denied service at SP Truck Stop had so far proved fruitless:
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The original video has been deleted many times on YouTube because the man filming the video uses terms like “ragheads”. I don’t agree with them pulling the video down but that is for another discussion – if anything it should be left up as an example of foolish reporting of an event based on emotion. I don’t like the way the man talks about people he obviously knows nothing about except someone claimed that a National Guardsmen was refused service. He has the right to be stupid and film himself making stupid claims. He clearly doesn’t know they are from India, and most likely not Muslim. The man who made the video is not the Guardsmen, it is not video of the alleged event either. It is just video of the people protesting outside the store, and the cameraman’s comments.
A Texaco station I would imagine has video surveillance, maybe not with audio – but anyhoo.
You can see the original video here:
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/82596709/
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http://www.wdsu.com/news/local-news/new-orleans/Bogalusa-gas-station-at-center-of-protest/
“People are quick to jump on something like this,” David Carpenter said. “Anything anti-American, anti-military, they just jump on it and they lash out so crazy… and we’ve got police officers all out here now, and these people, they can barely run their business.”
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