The most recent Halloween was no doubt concerning for many people, as it not only drew out some wannabe Nazis, but it also showed just how many establishments are tolerant of them. Miss Kitty’s Bar in Clive, Iowa, is one example, and despite the club’s rather belated apology, it appears they can’t catch a break. Now, the bar’s recent honoring of US WW2 vets on Veterans Day was met with more criticism for its irony, considering how they allowed a Nazi on their premises days earlier.
The outrage was mainly visible in the Des Moines city subreddit for Iowa, where the disgruntled residents of the state were insistent on branding Miss Kitty’s as Miss Kitty’s Nazi Bar. It appears Miss Kitty’s Facebook page went live again for the week, and they recently shared a celebratory post for Veterans Day. However, at the time of writing, it appears Miss Kitty’s page is down again, either mass-reported once more or restricted.
According to the Reddit post, Miss Kitty’s has a “post up thanking Veteran’s. Shame they couldn’t honor our WW2 vets by kicking out a nazi.” This controversy for Miss Kitty’s began when a man named Donald Lee Gardner attended their Halloween event dressed as Adolf Hitler himself. Gardner even went around posing for Nazi salutes.
While Miss Kitty apologized for hosting the man in the Nazi costume, many people online were alleging that they only did so once the widespread negative publicity poured in, “Due to loss of business we’re changing from not sorry to sorry,” jokes one Iowan online in the Des Moines subreddit.
People don’t want to forget
At the moment, social media presence for Miss Kitty’s bar is limited to a Facebook group (with restricted comment sections) and an Instagram page, where the old posts are being tagged by people questioning why they allowed Nazis in their establishment. Sadly, it appears the people of Iowa are not letting the bar off lightly, and it’s not clear when they plan to stop mass reporting Miss Kitty’s online presence. Offline, it appears many bands, performers, and patrons are also avoiding the bar.
Meanwhile, Donald Gardner has met a similar fate, where he had to hide his social media presence and make himself scarce from the public eye. Regardless of how much he hides, he is now awaiting a probation violation hearing, slated for December 5th. Thanks to his Hitler costume, the authorities were quickly made aware of Gardner’s drinking activities, and in a Hitler or Nazi costume, nonetheless.
Sadly, for any WW2 veteran who might be living in Iowa, they’ll have to avoid a certain bar if they want to celebrate or feel honored. “Go buy a veteran a drink tonight. This Miss Kitty’s thing has been tough on them,” says a commenter, while another joked that Miss Kitty’s Veterans Day appreciation was somewhat correct as “Technically, the Nazis have veterans too.”
