September 28th, 2011
08:30 PM ET

Ice cream cone or Ku Klux Klan member?

A Florida shop had to scrap its ice cream cone mascot because passers-by thought it looked like a man dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit.

"We were just trying to get people to come in," store employee Jasmine Gonzalez told CNN affiliate WTSP. "We thought it was something fun for people, but eventually people took it the wrong way."

The Ice Cream Family Corner and Sandwiches shop opened a few months ago in Ocala. The owners hired a man to stand outside the shop dressed in a vanilla  ice cream cone costume to attract business.

At first store owners told WTSP they had no idea the outfit was upsetting passers-by,  but then they noticed a drop in business, and began to wonder what was impacting their sales.

Eventually, Gonzalez said they were tipped off that people were avoiding the shop, because they thought the peaked cap was not an ice cream cone costume, but a KKK robe. The mascot was immediately pulled off the street.

Some customers told WTSP they could understand the confusion, while others laughed at the ordeal.

"They (KKK members) don't color themselves (with sprinkles) like that," Wayne Austin chuckled to WTSP as he looked at the costume.

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Filed under: Florida • U.S.
soundoff (222 Responses)
  1. noemi

    What should people expect mosy of them came over on bannan boats/rafts.and the others were slaves.the kkk are a bunch of inbreeds who moved there from alebamie send them back to there home state.there well be plenty of work for them now.same ppl well be working there farms that worked the land 100 yrs ago.stupid white trash and them negras

    September 30, 2011 at 5:35 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Ian

    Doesn't look like a Klanner at all. People are so stupid that it's mind boggling.

    October 1, 2011 at 10:34 am | Report abuse |
  3. jesse

    even if they see the top the bottom plain out looks like a cone. Well it IS Alabama

    October 1, 2011 at 12:11 pm | Report abuse |
    • Jessica

      Actually, it's Florida.

      October 5, 2011 at 3:13 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Bob

    How could any human be so flamingly stupid as to confuse this with a Klan robe and hood? Whoever complained about this should be euthanized for the good of the human race.

    October 1, 2011 at 11:18 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Justin

    "Passer-buyers?" ... really?

    October 4, 2011 at 1:47 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Dana

    The eff? It's clearly an ice cream cone. Are people that ignorant?

    October 4, 2011 at 4:26 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Bob

    HAHA fail anything to get a leg up in this world so sad..... btw maybe the Darwin Award for whoever called in saying KKK?

    October 5, 2011 at 4:45 pm | Report abuse |
  8. MarineVet

    Now Hiring! Positions in the KKK are available. Contact your local Tea Party representative for details.

    October 21, 2011 at 2:41 pm | Report abuse |
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