It used to be that immigrants did not come to America to sponge, mooch, and loot — largely illegally — but to take advantage of American opportunity and to contribute. A case in point is Italians. The mark they made on New York is especially appreciated.

Italians are rightly proud of Christopher Columbus, one of history’s greatest heroes. He has been revered for centuries for spreading civilization to the formerly savage Western Hemisphere. But being a leftist, New York’s likely next mayor hates him for this:

Italian Americans were outraged at mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani Monday after a social media post resurfaced showing him flipping the bird at a statue of Christopher Columbus and calling for its removal.

The socialist Mamdani is seen in the tweet from June 2020 giving the middle finger to the back of the towering figure in Astoria, which is part of his state Assembly district.

When Zohran Mamdani barks “Take it down,” he doesn’t mean just the statue. He means what the statue represents.

On a tip from David Kight.