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Crowther Residential Roofing in Fort Myers weighs in on Confederate statues issue

Posted at 6:27 PM, Aug 24, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-25 09:45:15-04

An electronic sign outside of a Fort Myers business is catching a lot of attention. The sign reads "So why wasn't anyone offended over statues when Obama was President?"

It's outside of Crowther Residential Roofing on Metro Parkway. It has people on both sides talking.

John Kaufmann was shopping across the street when he saw the sign. He said like the sign itself, he believes Confederate statues should be left alone.

RELATED: Charlottesville covers Confederate statue in black

Others like Iliana Vidal see it differently. "I don't agree with the sign. People are being way too hateful," she said.

The debate over Confederate statues has been sweeping the nation, especially in the last few weeks.

In Lee County, the local NAACP chapter is pushing to get the Robert E. Lee statue removed from downtown Fort Myers and his portrait in county commission chambers swapped to one of him in civilian clothing.

RELATED: Confederate monument removed in West Palm Beach

Some people on Metro Parkway Thursday afternoon said the sign doesn't belong outside a business.

"If I see that sign up there, then I know that's not a business I want to support because I know how he thinks," Jackie Rookwood said. "It helps me to make my decision."

While some say it's time to keep our mouths shut, others say we need to keep our minds open.  "We should all be a little more tolerant of peoples' opinions," Julie Painter said.

Fox 4 reached out to the owner of Crowther Residential Roofing about the sign but were told he's on vacation and have not heard back yet.