A lot of people are just waiting for socially acceptable ways to be terrible people. People who now assault 'racists' don't do that because they hate racists, it's because they want to assault people. In another time, they might be assaulting blacks because then that was what they could get away with.

Let's be real, there are people "on our side" who are like that as well, which the "FUCK YEAH BOMB THEM AND TAKE THEIR SHIT" reaction to Venezuela made clear.