I recently saw someone stop to ask - I think it was Monday's NewsHour, in a conversation with the Charleston, SC white nationalist and black nationalist who publicly pledged to never use violence to resolve their differences. The black nationalist was asked about the statue of Lee at the center of the confrontation. He said that the counter-protest side should realize it does not matter as much as some of them think.

He related it to the Confederate Flag removal from the SC capital. At the time, he thought it was a great victory. Now, he says none of the things he really works towards have changed one bit. No improvement from his perspective in educational inequality, economic inequality, and both guys thought that there has been no reduction in racial tension in Charleston.

In other words, looking back, it was a hollow victory, and he wouldn't waste all the time and energy on it.

Really, for this chunk of the angry anti-racists (and I've been pretty angry myself), it's like low hanging fruit. It's just something tangible to make us feel like we've accomplished something, but it accomplishes nothing of substance. Except maybe to sanitize our history a little bit, which I personally would not think of as an accomplishment.

If this goes too far (and I still don't think it will), I think it risks setting them back.