As to the statues, what matters -- and what was lacking in Bristol -- is societal consent. If a review leads to proposals to remove such-and-such a statue then, hopefully, the citizens too will be consulted. In either case, a more honest appraisal of our past can hardly be welcome. We're constantly assured that removing statues is an erasure of history, which rings a lot more hollow if those raising this protest are determined to ignore a significant chunk of it.