Percy writes:
If they end up in a museum then that would also be fine, but will they actually end up there? If they do end up in a museum will that really be the end of the objections, or will the objections then become to the museum displays?
There are museums that deal with the Holocaust, mistreatment of Native Americans, and plenty of other ugly parts of history. No one seems to object to them.
In our culture, the statues you place in public squares are meant to describe your city's values. That's why these statues are being taken down and moved, because they run counter to the values that NO citizens want to be represented. A museum display detailing the relics of racism, slavery, and the Confederacy wouldn't be considered an expression of NO's values in the same way.