"Walker was accompanied by his service dog named 'Barack'."
I wonder what possessed this gentleman to name his dog "Barack"?
Posted on 11/13/2016 9:20:18 PM PST by nickcarraway
The Chili's Bar & Grill restaurant chain has apologized and vowed to correct a wrongdoing by one its managers, who took away a meal from a U.S. Army veteran from the Dallas area.
U.S. Army veteran Ernest Walker, 47, of Cedar Hill, said he was served the meal as part of a "free meal to Veterans" promotion on Friday, Veterans Day. He had finished his food and was preparing to leave the restaurant when the trouble began. Walker was accompanied by his service dog named "Barack."
Walker said he believes an elderly man wearing an American flag shirt and Trump sticker told the restaurant manager that Walker was not a U.S. veteran and should not receive the free meal because he was wearing his cap indoors.
In an encounter captured on video by Walker and posted to Facebook, the manager asked for Walker's military ID, which he provided. Walker also provided his discharge paperwork.
Walker said the manager then took his to-go meal.
"I looked around and I'm embarrassed at this point," Walker said. "People are looking. I'm a soldier. I'm a person and everybody's looking like I stole food."
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The manager also indicated the service dog was not a service dog despite having a red service vest and certified service tags.
On Sunday, Chili's issued the following statement on Walker's Facebook page and to NBCDFW. It reads:
"We are aware of the situation that occurred at our Chili's Cedar Hill restaurant on November 11th. Our goal is to make every guest feel special and unfortunately we fell short on a day where we serve more than 180,000 free meals as a small token to honor our Veterans and active military for their service, hence these actions do not reflect the beliefs of our brand. We are taking this very seriously and the leaders in our company are actively involved with the goal of making it right. Since the incident occurred, we have extended an apology and we are reaching out to the guest."
"They're doing what they should do, but they still haven't validated me as a soldier," said Walker. "I just need him to say 'I see your ID, I see your DD214, and I respect you as a soldier, and as a man and as a customer'."
Walker said he served in the Army's 25th Infantry Division, serving from 1987 to 1991. He said he was in an Army uniform without his name or rank on it on Veterans Day because he did not want to be mistaken for an active-duty soldier.
"And I wear this one day a year," said Walker. "I'm not some kook that's reliving the past."
Walker has retained an attorney, Kim Cole, who said she had a meeting planned with Chili's corporate on Monday.
Naming a dog Barack is sort of funny. Probably unintentionally funny given his owner, but it is.
“Barack” (Bet-Resh-Kaf) in Hebrew means, “lightning.”
No, the manager should not be fired but demoted to a long term of KP duty. He should be a French fry cook for about six months and taught that the only thing he can say to a customer is “You want fries with that”.
Lesson to be learned, “Don’t screw with America’s veterans”.
I’m betting the guy wearing the Trump sticker was not a Trump supporter at all but an agent provocateur trying to stir up incidents for news stories.
Maybe the whole stunt was street theater by employees of the SPLC.
The manager made a mistake but does not need to be fired. That would not be right. He will be a better manager for the incident. Experience is a good teacher.
I am betting this is just a made up story he put on face book and this never took place. you can claim anything on social media. I am sure that the restraunt chain reacted and that a confused manager was contacted about a incident that did not take place.
I am betting this is just a made up story he put on face book and this never took place. you can claim anything on social media. I am sure that the restraunt chain reacted and that a confused manager was contacted about a incident that did not take place.
I wonder what possessed this gentleman to name his dog "Barack"?
Interesting. I got taken in by one of those on another story. Surprised myself. I usually have a keen eye for this sort of thing. I’ll have a closer look.
No kidding.
Why would anyone do that to their beloved dog?
Out of curiosity, is it normal to have your discharge papers on you in addition to your Veteran’s ID?
It was not free. It was payment by a grateful citizen for service to our country.
Freedom is not free.
Walker goes by Ernest Blackbatman on Facebook. I looked up his page and he is 100% of the BLM, social justice, victim mentality type.
Walker posted the video several times in what looks like and attempt to get his story to catch on. Looking at Chili’s facebook page shows mostly BLM and leftist screaming outrage.
The video he posted shows Walker talking a lot and making accusations with the manager looking like he is just trying to figure out what exactly is going on. The manager took his meal and walked off. I would be very surprised if this isn’t a set up. The manager looks like he made misteps but I’m not sure he needs to lose his job. That looks likely to happen though.
So a man wearing an American flag as a shirt criticized a man wearing a hat indoors?
And who wears stickers after election day? MAYBE an “I voted” sticker but a campaign sticker? who wears stickers? Buttons I could see.
Was the fact that the dog was named “Barack” an unspoken part of the disturbance?
What? They required ID? It’s not like voting?
Mr. Walker has a service dog named Barack? Earlier in life, Barry might have eaten it.
They’re trying to make this one of those eating while black cases.
Is it different from Baruch?
If he had legitimate ID it really wouldn’t matter what he was wearing, or what the customers think a “real ex-military” person would be doing/not doing right?
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