Look at some of the comments, defenses, even aggressive threats here on FR, look at the video posted overnight here on FR by the White Supremacist group, which should be removed from FR. These are modern day racists, idiots, and they cause anyone defending the Confederacy and its flag, its monuments, etc. to be tarred with the same evil they represent and promote.
Those groups were being ignored, ordinary people stood up to them when they spoke out. They were allowed to speak out but they had no listeners, numbers were dwindling, mostly detractors so they were fading away. They were not a real problem other than in prisons; and prisons have far more problems than that with all the different groups of gangs and others that are just as bad or worse. If they did act out, well there are laws against that and have been for quite some time- it’s not like people were just ignoring them when they crossed the lines.
The liberals have been stirring it all up, going so far out there that they have stirred up people who are not racist; people are concerned about history, free speech, ETC. Trying to silence their speech with violence and taking their websites down instead of just letting them know they could speak but most people did not agree. All of this is gaining them attention and sympathy from people that do not even agree with them on issues.
You and I may disagree with everything the truly racist people stand for, yet now that isn’t even the point. The liberals say all whites are racist. All whites and even non whites that don’t agree with them on every point are just racist. Now they can destroy history that is meaningful to us, not just Confederate history. Now they can silence us, make us the enemy. Lump us in with the real racists...how far do we let this go? If we say anything, then it looks like we do support the real racists. So there you have it.