What exactly was the rednecks' problem with the Seeker?

I'm a bit hazy, so to speak, on why the rednecks were after Steve. They seemed to see him as a threat because of his views, but this film had a lot more eloquent and challenging rebels than the Seeker. If they had a problem with the counterculture, they could have attacked anyone in the Avalon Ballroom, but he was the only one they cared about.

In the bonus features, Bruce Dern says he was unclear about his character's role, even though the Seeker is pivotal to this film. His character remains an enigma to me -- someone who is supposed to be a leader but can hardly get out a complete sentence and doesn't seem to have much of a following (other than the rednecks). Was there something I missed, or was the tension between the Seeker and the straights just thinly developed?

Regardless, I can say with total confidence that the Seeker's wig was killer.