Driving my brother home tonight he brought up this situation and mentioned how someone at his work said it's all really just about the removal of a historical statue and that history is important, and tried to argue that this was the actual reason. I was so shocked that I almost had to stop the car. Made me feel sick that someone in my family would believe those kinds of statements. (I also know the guy who said this to him, and I'm pretty sure there was more overt racism in his actual statements about the situation)
I tried to stay calm and after discussing it with him, he did agree that regardless of how it started, it has become a rally for terrible racist people. So it made me feel a little better about it. Still kind of sick to my stomach though thinking about it.