Toppling a statue of Christopher Columbus and submerging it in a lake ill serves Virginia and our noble multicultural republic. Moreover, substituting violence for reason does a disservice to the peaceful George Floyd protesters. It also undermines one of America’s founding precepts: E pluribus unum — “Out of many, one.”

As an Italian sailing for Spain, Columbus was caught in the crossfire among the Spanish crown, its conquistadors and the indigenous peoples. Some of the tribes he encountered were genteel and hospitable. Others engaged in pillaging, human sacrifice and cannibalism.