When a retired Navy officer by the name of Rod Boyle saw a veterans parking spot outside of a Harris Teeter in Wake Forest, he was proud. He had seldom seen such a thing and as a veteran himself, he was happy to take advantage of the special spot.
Boyle had served as a first class petty officer in the United States Navy for more than 20 years. So by all accounts, he was more than entitled to use the veterans parking spot.
But some angry observers disagreed. They thought Boyle was taking something that did not belong to him. While Boyle was inside the grocery store picking up a few items, vigilantes wrote an offensive note and posted it on the veteran’s car. See how they abused him below!
Boyle was shocked that vigilantes had written and posted the abusive note on his car. He is a veteran and deserved to use the spot. All they had to do was ask him and he would have described his two decades of military service.
Instead they wrote the following offensive note: “You are a f***ing moron! I hope karma visits you often! This is parking for our veterans.”
Because the note hurt his pride, the 56-year-old retired Navy First Class Petty Officer logged onto Facebook and shared a picture of the note and his response. It quickly went viral.
“Yes, I was parked in the VETERAN’s parking space,” he wrote on Facebook. “I retired after 20-years of service in the US Navy, in 2001. I am proud of my accomplishment and I definitely do not expect a return but respect is what I feel I have earned.”
While Boyle was angry at first, as the incident began to explode, the veteran came to the defense of the person who wrote the note. He is glad people are trying to stick up for veterans.
“I defended our country for a very specific reason, for citizens of the United States to have the right to say that kind of stuff,” he told the News & Observer. “My service was not only to defend, but also for the rights of Americans. One of those rights is freedom of speech, such as for a person to make an assumption, write a note and touch a car.”
Although he defended the person, the note still hurt his feelings. Boyle worked hard as a Navy officer and didn’t expect much – except respect from his fellow Americans.
“What business is it of someone to make that assumption?” he said. “I am a veteran. What made you think I wasn’t? You can’t tell if someone is a veteran just by what they look like, or the car they drive.”
Do you think the person who wrote the note should come forward and issue a public apology? Should people hesitate before jumping to conclusions?
Please Liked Video in the comments below and see what others are writing!
