Even the people in the USA at the time generally just read about this in the news without getting involved. The fraction of the population that was either protesting or attacking the protesters was small.
Consider something like the controversy around gay marriage, which more people here might remember. Most people might have picked a side the way that they would support one sports team over another, but they didn’t have strong feelings about the issue and they didn’t actually take any action.
Even the people in the USA at the time generally just read about this in the news without getting involved. The fraction of the population that was either protesting or attacking the protesters was small.
Consider something like the controversy around gay marriage, which more people here might remember. Most people might have picked a side the way that they would support one sports team over another, but they didn’t have strong feelings about the issue and they didn’t actually take any action.