Well said, Bazz.  Lee did not lead the Confederates because of his views on slavery.  He did it in support of the primacy of "State's rights".  He was a skilled and compassionate general and leader, beloved by Southerners and respected (even if grudgingly) by Northerners.   By all accounts, he was an exemplary soldier well before the Civil War.  People who knew him well (or of him), speak of him in reverential tones eerily similar to those spoken of Lincoln.

City council's decision was blatant pandering and a bad decision.  Still, it doesn't excuse the KKK's malignant actions.   Council's decision was worthy of protest, but not by these a**holes and not how they did it.   Surely there is a "Friends of R.E. Lee Society" somewhere who could have made the point with more class and credibility.