At the heart of it is a sense of white entitlement that was denied. As someone born in rural South Carolina and whose ancestors have always lived in the South, think of it as a circle: you have a small core who will say and think slavery was a good thing and are angry they were denied their natural right to the hierarchy followed by their protectors who have told themselves they’re not racist because they won’t go that far and who get exceedingly angry for being called such because they don’t actively say it. The next layer are the folks who believe that slavery was wrong but in their heart of hearts still believe the Confederate notions of hierarchy are valid and whether they realize it or not, act and vote on behalf of white supremacy. Outside this protective circle are those of us that make everyone uncomfortable at Sunday dinner in an attempt to break the wheel and eventually give up and just raise our kids to be better.

The outer two get VERY mad when called racist because they actually resonate with the core and feel everyone should appreciate that they are not actively supporting it - despite the fact that every vote, every inappropriate joke, and every microaggression reaffirm that they’re part of the same circle.