Remarkably, but perhaps unsurprisingly, the violence in Charlottesville has had a positive impact in several ways. This is certainly one, and I am fairly sure that this action in Baltimore will not be the last such event. In my own state of North Carolina, the process will take significantly longer due to a 2015 law that specifically banned the removal of them (yes, I’m embarrassed about my state for a number of reasons), http://www.charlottestories.com/governor-cooper-calls-confederate-statues-north-carolina-removed/, but there is a good chance that they will be removed given the outrage over what happened in Charlottesville.
The reason I say that it’s not terribly surprising to see this benefit is fairly simple and pretty much a universal human trait: people grow the most from the most painful experiences. It’s certainly true that our nation is going through a period of intense pain.
We liberals have been complaining about the growing nationalism and racism within the Republican party for decades, and we really wondered what the hell it would take for the GOP to finally face the rot within their political souls. Turns out, they had to hit rock bottom, and Trump has been that bottom.
As horrible and painful as the next few years are likely to be, even if Trump is somehow removed from the Presidency, we have to hope that we will come out of the fire stronger and better than before.