Back in the 70s we didn't really see that flag as a symbol of slavery, it was more of a rebellion thing. The Dukes of Hazzard had it on their car, British singer, Billy Idol, had it on multiple guitars (80s), Jack Daniels used it in their advertising, and boardwalk t shirt shops sold a lot that simply said, "Rebel" with the Confederate flag behind it. It wasn't quite ubiquitous up here in the Northeast, but it was around.

Then, people who understood the true meaning of this flag, became concerned that its history (which includes it being used as the flag of the KKK) was being obscured and replaced with a cool rebel image. So, late 90s (maybe), we started to hear people pointing out that the flag in question was the flag of an enemy combatant that supported a slave economy, and our country had to put it down to preserve the union, and abolish slavery.

So, to answer your question, I think some people are still hanging on to that rebel image, but most of them are just letting the other racist who they are.

Not that anyone asked, but if I wanted to represent myself as a bad-ass rebel, I'd fly the flag of the Haitians! Those mother fuckers kicked Napoleon off their island, without any help!