After she went viral in a video that saw her declare her "KKK belief," Missouri woman Kathy Jenkins has apologized for her racist comments.
The video surfaced online on Monday, showing Jenkins as she stands on the bed of a pickup truck as she holds up a Confederate flag. "I will teach my grandkids to hate you all," she can be heard yelling to Black Lives Matter supporters in the clip. It ends as she raises her fist in the air, declaring her "KKK belief." In an interview with KOLR10, Jenkins said that she is "so, so sorry" for her comments, changing her tune considerably from the viral video.
"I mean, if it would help for me to stand with Black Lives Matter, I absolutely would do that," she said. According to her, she was simply watching the Black Lives Matter protests and the counter-protesters outside of a Dixie Outfitters store in Branson, Missouri. "I was chanting Black Lives Matter… and that’s not even on video," she continued. "It's like I blacked out. I don't even remember." Seemingly compelled by the spirit of Robert E. Lee, the clip suggests that she is fully aware of what she is doing, but she maintained she was just curious about the protests.
"I've never been to one," she added. "I just wanted to see what the rally was all about." She has claimed that she watched the protests unfold from the other side of the street, before she was given a Confederate flag and told it was a "symbol of unity." She said, "I hadn’t said anything until they came into my face…It’s like I blacked out. I don’t even remember saying half the stuff that I said. ... I wasn't saying I'm KKK or for the KKK. I was mocking them because I don't like being called a racist." Since the video went viral, she has lost her job, she claimed.
In a full written apology, she said that she "would never want to see anyone hurt" and that she plans to use the experience as a learning experience. Most people don't need an educational experience to not side with a hate group, but apparently Missouri's Kathy Jenkins does.
