Robert E. Lee was a general in the Civil War, yeah, and though his participation in that conflict was his most remembered achievement in life, he was also integral to the Mexican-American war. Where, yknow, he worked together with Ulysses S Grant to win near impossible battles to defend our country? And after surrendering to the Union, and telling his soldiers to accept defeat peacibly, though I'm sure with much resentment, he ended up being working for a southern college, where he helped implement engineering and journalism, which had heavy impact to schooling in that area?
I'm not saying that the guy was perfect, he wanted slaves. He was on the wrong side of history. But the civil war was not the only thing he took part in, and it's not the only thing that most Southerners/Texans remember him for. Many of the other important soldiers that fought in the civil war also had many other achievements to their name. Should we have had straight-up statues to confederate-only soldiers? Maybe not. Should leftists be putting all their focus to screaming at these statues? Probably not. There's bigger fish to fry. Like getting the heck rid of Soros/Stopping Antifa/Focusing on literally anything else.
Edit: To further add, southern pride is a big thing. My ancestors fought for the Union, and housed slaves. I have no familial blood that goes back to the south. But being born in Texas, I have a huge sense of pride to this state. Tearing down statues of anything related to Texas' freedom is a big no-no around here.
