Kathy Bennett Branson, Missouri woman draped in Confederate flag tells BLM supporter she’ll teach her kids to hate you all as mayor releases friendly town statement.
Video has captured a Missouri woman draped in a Confederate flag telling a Black Lives Matter supporter of her intention of passing on her bigotry to her grandchildren.
Kathy Bennett, of Branson, was among a group of 100 people who stood outside a Dixie Outfitters store Sunday in support of the Confederate flag and the clothing outlet, which was targeted by Black Lives Matter supporters due to a 2015 news story about its owners’ reported history with the Ku Klux Klan, the Springfield News-Leader reports.
‘I will teach my grandkids to hate you all,’ Bennett told a demonstrator during heated exchange, video shows. Of note, social media also identified also going by the name of Kathy Jenkins.
Bennett then stood up and said ‘suck on this’ before waving and draping the Confederate flag on her back. That prompted the BLM demonstrator to tell Bennett that ‘hating is not a way to live’.
Bennett then proceeded to shake her fist while extolling her ‘KKK belief,’ the video shows.
‘I hate the Confederate flag’ Branson woman apologizes over BLM racist remarks
“I will teach my grandkids to hate you all” pic.twitter.com/f2IO0awyjg
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) June 22, 2020
‘We welcome all to come and experience our friendly town,’
The exchange prompted Branson’s mayor to denounce Bennett’s ‘hate speech’ as the southwest Missouri town trended on Twitter, OzarksFirst.com reports.
‘The city of Branson does not condone any type of hate speech,’ Mayor Ed Akers said in a released statement. ‘The majority of the people of Branson are welcoming, open and neighborly citizens. Many here have strong moral background with servant’s hearts and a spirit of hospitality.’
Branson has been the site of seven demonstrations since May 30, all of which have been peaceful without incident, Akers said.
‘We welcome all to come and experience our friendly town,’ the mayor’s statement concluded.
i am a teenager from branson missouri. seeing what happened at the BLM protest the other day is absolutely disgusting. i have always had the mindset that everyone is equal and nobody she be treated as if they are not. growing up in branson though it has been very difficult to….
— Breann Bremer (@breann_bremer) June 22, 2020
‘Hate is something that is passed down and learned.’
Of note, the Branson Police Department also issued a statement earlier on Monday stating that the protest remained peaceful. No arrests were made.
And then there was this response on Facebook following the mayor’s ‘friendly’ statement that caught this author’s attention:
‘Why is there still a store in Branson that sells memorabilia like this? What message does that send to people in the year 2020?? Imagine if someone setup shop selling Swastika flags. When it comes down to it, I fail to see the difference.. Hate is something that is passed down and learned. I see absolutely zero value in having a business that represents the worse in people, no matter how anyone wants to sugar coat it 🤬 As painful as it is for some, times must (and always do) change.’
