Business & Tech

Relief After Boycott F.O.B. Facebook Page Removed

A Facebook page that encouraged a boycott of a Town and Country business and sparked outrage across the internet has been removed. The store owner and mother whose email began the controversy both say they will now focus on moving forward.

What started with an email from a Town and Country mother who felt her son was being discriminated against, turned into a firestorm of outrage against one Town and Country business owner.

(Previous Story: Facebook Post Prompts Boycott of Town and Country Business)

A Facebook page alleging discrimination at F.O.B. St. Louis in Town and Country's Lamp and Lantern Village tugged at the emotions of many, prompting comments on Facebook and even here on the Town and Country-Manchester Patch site. 

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

However, Wednesday night that Facebook page disappeared as quickly as it was created. No word on who created or removed the page, but Town and Country police tell Patch they were not involved in its removal.

F.O.B. store owner Kay Wallace said she heard the page was down from friends

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

"That's real interesting. I hope it will just go away," Wallace tells Patch. "Maybe because we called police."

Wallace, who maintains the entire incident had nothing to do with discrimination, but was always a safety issue, received harassing phone calls and visits to her store after the Facebook page was created.

(Previous Story: Facebook Sparks Harassment of F.O.B. Store Owner)

Wallace also thinks maybe the mention of a lawsuit contributed to the site being removed and the positive posts supporting her once she told her side of the story.

"When the message gets out and both sides of a story are out there, maybe it backfired," Wallace said of the page being removed.

However, she warns that the impace of Facebook is frightening. 

"I don't know much about it, but I'm told if you put stuff on it, it's going to get picked upI think the sad thing is what can happen to business owners," Wallace said. "People took this Facebook thing totally out of control. People are calling it cyberlynching. They have no idea who did what. They are just making comments like that."

In fact, according to a Patch poll posted Thursday, many readers said they were concerend that Facebook could have such an impact.

Town and Country resident Shelly Arnold Reynolds, whose email sparked the creation of the website and the ensuing outrage, tells Patch she is also relieved the Facebook site is gone.

"I am so over the whole 'he said, she said.' This whole thing has gotten way out of control and I did not condone it. It's a shame, because it has taken away from the real issue, which is the discrimination that I felt. The reaction of everybody, the threats against Kay, the reaction of people with good intentions," Reynolds tells Patch. "I am also relieved because now there is nothing she can blame me for. I regret that it (Facebook page) gave her the opportunity to spin the story."

Reynolds said although she is relieved the Facebook page came down, she is not surprised.

"I'm not surprised because of threats that came from Kay and her supporters of legal action because people are scared when they are threatened with legal action. That's how people are made to be quiet," Reynold said. "This is exactly why people don't report these types of things. It turns into a reputation thing. I turned into a concern matter for my family."

Although both Reynolds and Wallace explain very different accounts of what happened inside the store last Friday afternoon, both do agree they plan to move forward now and focus on the positive.

"Hopefully something good will come out of this," Wallace said.

Reynolds said the incident has been a great learning experience for her. She's spent the last week focusing on research and how to continue to raise awareness for people living with disabilities.

"Just jumping on board with people and trying to make people aware of how discrimination works in this day and age," Reynolds tells Patch. "I want my son to walk into a store one day and buy furniture and I want people in the store to say, 'Wow, what an inspiration.'"

Reynolds is also working with a local organization that provides horse therapy to children with disabilities. She is also very active with the Starkloff Foundation which works to create equality for people with disabilities.

 



Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Town And Country-Manchester