# Mississippi voters approve new state flag **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 6, 2020, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870 "2020-11-06T00:38:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/41 "2020-11-07T00:16:34Z")
From a purely aesthetic point of view, I think the designers would have done better to make the two bands on either side of the magnolia emblem white instead of gold. Or leave them off altogether. Navy blue, crimson, gold and white does not strike me as a pleasing combination. But I’m not a Mississippian, so I got no dawg in this fight. And it’s a huge improvement over the “Uppity Negroes, remember your place!” flag it replaces. Of course, including that stupid motto reminds non-theists that they’re not important. But while “Fuck you, black people” is not an acceptable sentiment for American governments to express anymore, “Fuck you, atheists” is still A-OK to the majority of Americans. I _did_ have a stake in the Georgia flag change, and while I understand the current flag’s reference to the Confederacy, I don’t think it’s problematic. Most people don’t know or recognize that flag, as is shown by the number who call the Confederate battle flag - the white stars and blue saltire on a red field that Mississippi just removed - “the Stars and Bars”. And I think the current Georgia flag is a good design. Although I agree with @JRDelirious that the pre-1956 blue band, red and white bars flag was better. Still, the current flag, and Mississippi’s new banner, are miles better than those boring state-seal-on-a-navy-blue-field beloved of so many Midwestern states. > [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@MEBuckner](#): > > > > Those smallish paper items that I actually take a Sharpie to so that they _ **don’t** _ say “In God We Trust” on them? > > Seriously, explain to me how that reply makes any sense whatsoever. Let me break it down for you. The “We” in “In God We Trust” on official U.S. currency refers to citizens of the United States. @MEBuckner is a citizen of the United States who _doesn’t_ trust in a being he presumably does not think exists. So he scratches out “In God We Trust” because it’s not a true statement and he doesn’t wish to endorse it as such. Is that so hard to grasp? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/42 "2020-11-07T00:42:21Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > From a purely aesthetic point of view, I think the designers would have done better to make the two bands on either side of the magnolia emblem white instead of gold. Or leave them off altogether. Many designers are not very sanguine about having reds and blues right upon each other, from some old heraldic norm. But they may have had their reasons (and a white fimbriation between red and blue is associated with the confederate colors) > [@](#): > > Of course, including that stupid motto reminds non-theists that they’re not important. But while “Fuck you, black people” is not an acceptable sentiment for American governments to express anymore, “Fuck you, atheists” is still A-OK to the majority of Americans. BTW the “new” Georgia flag also includes the phrase – which is **not** in the Seal of Georgia. I would not be surprised if this is something that some “heritage” organization or a legislation packager like ALEC makes a point of bringing up for some legislator to offer as an amendment/demand wherever anyone is thinking of changes to flags or seals or other official symbols. Although the motto was officially adopted kind of piecemeal through different periods in the nation’s history until it became truly general only in the 50s, it had apparently been banging around for a while – at least as far back as the original text of The Star Spangled Banner, in 1814, where the 4th stanza contains the line “And this be our motto: In God is our trust”. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/43 "2020-11-07T03:16:21Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > I like the Magnolia. So much better than the “cram everything onto the flag” route Wisconsin went. You mean the city of Milwaukee? > **[Flag of Milwaukee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Milwaukee?wprov=sfti1)** > > The official flag of Milwaukee, a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, was adopted in 1954. A 2004 survey by the North American Vexillological Association rated the Milwaukee flag 147th out of 150 flags of major American cities. > The flag displays symbols of Milwaukee on a medium blue background, with the city name below all the elements. In the center, a gear, representing industry, bears symbols of Milwaukee's identity and history. An Indian head, resembling the Milwaukee Braves logo at the tim... ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/44 "2020-11-07T03:21:17Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Let me break it down for you. The “We” in “In God We Trust” on official U.S. currency refers to citizens of the United States. @MEBuckner is a citizen of the United States who _doesn’t_ trust in a being he presumably does not think exists. So he scratches out “In God We Trust” because it’s not a true statement and he doesn’t wish to endorse it as such. Is that so hard to grasp? I didnt think anyone could be that petty. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/45 "2020-11-07T03:25:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I didnt think anyone could be that petty. Why? If Communist-fearing nominally god-believing Congresspersons were petty enough to put it on the money, then it’s hardly incredible that someone would be “petty” enough to take it off. But I suppose that’s how microaggressions work. Get in as many as possible, and then be “shocked” that anyone would concern themselves responding or reacting to such a trifle. Like _they’re_ the one with the problem. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/46 "2020-11-07T03:35:27Z")
It has been around since 1814 and on some currency since 1864. It is a part of history. You might as well object to _e pluribus unum_, as it is in latin, the language those Papists use, thus clearly religious. _Annuit cœptis_ means _“He [God] has favored our undertakings”_ And of course _“all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”_ 90% of American approve it’s use. It aint just a few rednecks in old Miss. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/47 "2020-11-07T04:26:39Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > > [@kitap](#): > > > > I like the Magnolia. So much better than the “cram everything onto the flag” route Wisconsin went. > > You mean the city of Milwaukee? > > [Flag of Milwaukee - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Milwaukee?wprov=sfti1) Wow. No. I had no idea until now that it had its own flag. And boy, that’s cluttered. And bad. I meant this: [Flag of Wisconsin | Meaning, Colors & Symbol | Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Wisconsin). A badger, cheese and Forward. That’s all it needs. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/48 "2020-11-07T04:33:16Z")
Well, that’s a bad flag, but only slightly worse than most state flags, the majority of which just slap the state seal on a bedsheet. It’s not the travesty that the Milwaukee flag is. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/49 "2020-11-07T04:35:22Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > But I suppose that’s how microaggressions work. Get in as many as possible, and then be “shocked” that anyone would concern themselves responding or reacting to such a trifle. Like _they’re_ the one with the problem. Yeppers. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/50 "2020-11-07T04:42:47Z")
@DrDeth, do you know what the phrase “antecedent of a pronoun” means? What is the antecedent of the pronoun “we” in the motto “In God We Trust”? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/51 "2020-11-07T05:05:39Z")
IMHO, something can only be petty if it actually affects someone in any way. Like if I were to get upset at you for misspelling a word–that would be petty. But scratching something out is just making a statement. It’s saying “I don’t think this should be here.” And I think that’s entirely appropriate reaction. I also note that something being history only means that it has the meaning history assigned to it. Many historical things can and should be removed. So it is not an argument to keep something. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/52 "2020-11-07T05:36:23Z")
“In God We Trust” evokes the addition of “… under god …” to the pledge of allegiance, which was done in the full heat and fervor of the McCarthy era. In that respect, it is somewhat more objectionable than just oh, it is only a generic deity. But at least it is small enough to not be a glaring eyesore. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/53 "2020-11-07T06:06:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It has been around since 1814 and on some currency since 1864. It is a part of history. Well, in that case, why the hell is Mississippi changing their flag at all? I mean, it’s a part of history, right? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/54 "2020-11-07T06:51:41Z")
That is like Bill Clinton trying to work out what the definition of “is” is. enough of your hijack. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/55 "2020-11-07T06:52:24Z")
No, it doesnt , it predates that by over a hundred years. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/56 "2020-11-07T06:52:41Z")
Four years of racist history, yes. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/57 "2020-11-07T12:07:54Z")
I like that my sharpied-out IGWT will likely be noticed by someone. It’s like “Where’s George” in that way, but I usually only do twenties. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/58 "2020-11-07T12:48:08Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > OK, so Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, etc. etc. don’t have god(s)?? Buddhists do not believe in god/s per se. It’s a big step up for Mississippi, regardless. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/59 "2020-11-07T13:10:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > 90% of American approve it’s use. It aint just a few rednecks in old Miss. I’m dubious. When was that poll done, and what was the question asked? I don’t get upset about it. (I rarely think about it.) But if you asked me whether i approved, i would say, “no”. If you gave me a scale i suppose I’d be in the “indifferent” range. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870/60 "2020-11-07T13:21:40Z")
87% of all statistics quoted on the Internet are made up on the spot. Can you cite that 90% number please. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mississippi-voters-approve-new-state-flag/924870.md?page=4)