Sgt. Chad Staples, who was traveling from California back to his home in North Carolina, checked in to the Best Western in Monahans, Texas, Sunday and was booked into a third-floor room.

The former Army Ranger, who grew up in Jay, is paralyzed as a result of a firefight in Iraq in 2007 and is confined to a wheelchair.

When he was ready to check out, the motel elevator was out of service due to electrical storms and power outages in the area.

The only option left to him was to go down the stairs. So, he called the front desk and asked if someone could help him do that.

The woman at the front desk refused to help, knowing he was in a wheelchair, and even mocked him for calling with such a request.

So, Staples did the only thing he could to get back on the road.

He threw his suitcase and his wheelchair down three flights of stairs, and then scooted and crawled down each step until he reached the ground floor.

Staples earned the Bronze Star Medal for Valor for his actions during that 2007 firefight, shielding a fellow soldier and medic with his own body as the trio attempted to reach cover in a nearby truck. A bullet pierced Staples’ body armor, paralyzing him from the waist down. As he was recuperating from his injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the people of Jay stitched quilts for hospital patients and whispered prayers for his recovery.

Best Western could not have treated this guest any worse, and the motel owner has since apologized multiple times.

Staples was so angered by his treatment that he posted a narrative of the episode on Facebook on Wednesday, triggering anger and action from his fellow soldiers and citizens as the Facebook post made its way across military blogs and veterans groups’ websites.

The motel received so many calls of complaint that employees stopped answering the phone Thursday and, according to Texas TV reports, the motel was the scene of an angry protest Thursday night.

The motel, in a statement Wednesday and another on Thursday, indicated that employees are not permitted to physically help guests by moving them because of liability in case guests are injured. But that’s not what Staples was asking for.

“I didn’t need to be carried down the stairs, let’s get that clear,” he told the Odessa American newspaper. “I needed somebody to help me get my bags and wheelchair down the stairs.”

Seems a fair request since it was the motel’s owner who assigned Staples a room on the top floor of the motel, but it’s not like the Best Western has bellboys or even a concierge. This is a discount motel (which charged Staples $289 for the room and has since refunded his money) with minimal staff.

For security, the front desk clerk is probably required to remain at the front desk. Even so, a janitor could have been called to carry Staples’ possessions, or the local fire department could have been called. Firefighters there say they would have welcomed a call to help.

None of that happened and, Staples said, an apology is simply not enough. He’s calling for a boycott of Best Western until the chain updates its policies and the clerk in Monahans is fired. Based on the criticisms floating through the blogosphere, many of his fellow veterans agree.

People are angry that a veteran was treated so poorly, but we should be bothered when anyone — in a wheelchair or not — is treated badly. Right?

No one wants to be treated badly, but that doesn’t stop some people from treating others badly. Sometimes beyond badly. It’s a dichotomy of the human condition that cannot be explained.

Too many of us treat too many others callously, regardless of age, gender or economic station in life. And that’s truly sad.

Today, in the name of Sgt. Chad Staples, we urge you — our readers — to do something nice for someone you don’t know. Surprise someone with kindness and care and know you had a hand in softening the wrongs of this world.

[email protected]

The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and the editorial board.