Fun with flags, y'all
August 3, 2020 11:11 AM   Subscribe

Mississippi is changing their flag! The old flag is gone. The submission period for new flag designs ended August 1. All the (more than 2000) flag designs that met the legislative criteria are in this gallery.

Commissioners will each choose their top 25 by August 7, then rank their top 10. On August 14, the commissioners will pick their 5 finalists, and put them on (what I assume is the same) website for public comment. They'll pick the final flag to submit to the governor and to the legislature on September 2. At the general election on November 3, Mississippi voters will decide whether to approve the new flag, or start over. (Regardless, the old flag is gone.)

The legislative criteria are: must say "In God We Trust", must not contain the Confederate battle flag.

You can "favorite" up to 25 flags, though it doesn't appear they are using this as an indicator of approval.
posted by Huffy Puffy (145 comments total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 
It is so dumb to have _any_ text on a flag. "ɈƨυɿT ɘW boӘ nI" is going to look super great waving in the breeze.
posted by scottatdrake at 11:14 AM on August 3, 2020 [41 favorites]


Note: The flag gallery link requires either a Facebook or Google account to log in and view the submissions.

Or not. I navigated to it from the first link and got right in. But clicking on the link from here got me the login prompt. Weird. Sorry.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:15 AM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


It's saying we have to log in to view the gallery, are we allowed to as just guests?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:15 AM on August 3, 2020




Confirming that Huffy Puffy's link above works just fine!

And I predict a lot of votes for the flag with Kermit and the Teddy Bear.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:20 AM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]


Now that I can view them...It's kind of interesting how many submissions seem to be trying to evoke the stars-n-bars without outright using them. Some more successfully than others. I think Mississippi would do well to choose a flag that has no stars and no bars and put the thing to rest.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:21 AM on August 3, 2020 [10 favorites]


You know, I didn't realize this before, but Mississippi in outline looks a lot like Bart Simpson. "In God We Trust, Man. The Rest of You, Eat My Shorts."
posted by SPrintF at 11:24 AM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]


If we have to accept the constraint that it include "In God We Trust" in the design, I'd have loved to see one that added "In Science We Verify".
posted by Riki tiki at 11:24 AM on August 3, 2020 [45 favorites]


Tempted to only vote for the one that just says in god we trust in Arabic.
posted by phunniemee at 11:27 AM on August 3, 2020 [51 favorites]


It’s not up to me, but there’s something to be said for the pirate flag, Elvis and B.B. King, and “BY GOD WE TRUST IN COMMUNISM”.

Not sure how to link directly, if at all from mobile, but they’re hard to miss.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 11:28 AM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]


Came here to make a similar observation to Thorzdad - it's telling how many replace the confederate flag with a confederate-flag-colored cross.
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 11:32 AM on August 3, 2020 [8 favorites]


Apparently the "legislative criteria" didn't include "have you ever seen a flag before creating your design? Do you know how flags work?"
posted by AzraelBrown at 11:32 AM on August 3, 2020 [40 favorites]


Its not clear to me from just viewing the gallery but it seems somewhat clear cut there were some organized efforts behind some of these families of designs, right? like all of the ones that have the stars in a cross shape in the upper left with variations on the blue/white/red bars across the remainder? obviously some motifs are more likely to appear - having only been to MS once it is a bit surprising how consistent the magnolia blossoms are with their six or ten pointed geometric representation.

I would love for one of the hand-rendered ones to win, and for it to be exactly as drawn, not a smoothed over version.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:32 AM on August 3, 2020 [10 favorites]


I'm going to give honorable mention to the person who just cut out a state seal, placed it on some green construction paper, and took a picture. If you're going to do the laziest style of state flag, it's best to do it in the laziest way possible.
posted by ckape at 11:35 AM on August 3, 2020 [15 favorites]


I was scrolling for “IN GOD WE TRUST, ’CAUSE OUR STATE GOVERNMENT AIN’T WORTH SHIT” but was disappointed.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:41 AM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


I like the powerpoint flag E1011. It's very 'modern'.
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:46 AM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


I'm going to give honorable mention to the person who just cut out a state seal, placed it on some green construction paper, and took a picture. If you're going to do the laziest style of state flag, it's best to do it in the laziest way possible.

That's pretty much the flag of 15+ states, except blue construction paper, so it does regrettably have precedent.
posted by LionIndex at 11:46 AM on August 3, 2020 [5 favorites]


I was scrolling for “IN GOD WE TRUST, ’CAUSE OUR STATE GOVERNMENT AIN’T WORTH SHIT” but was disappointed.

There is one along those lines with "State of Imminent Danger" and the eagle replaced with a bird skeleton.
posted by jedicus at 11:49 AM on August 3, 2020


I haven't finished scrolling. Is the possum flag in there?
posted by asperity at 11:51 AM on August 3, 2020


(YES FOUND THE POSSUM FLAG)
posted by asperity at 11:56 AM on August 3, 2020 [10 favorites]


The "In God We Trust" seems so...weak? I mean, it's like someone with a bumper sticker telling you they're a tough guy. Odds are they aren't. Maybe your philosophy isn't as robust as you hope it might be if you constantly have to remind yourself about it, eh?

Anyway, I like the abstract magnolia blossums, generally, though the playful typographical treatment of the many esses in the state name are kind of nice, too.

So can we here in Washington state have a contest to remove the white slave-owner from our state flag?
posted by maxwelton at 11:57 AM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]


Could have had some fun with kerning here.
IN GOD. WET RUST.
posted by stevis23 at 12:02 PM on August 3, 2020 [19 favorites]


Disappointed that none of these have the my favorite vexilogical feature: a copyright notice from the Greater Pocatello Chamber of Commerce
posted by ckape at 12:04 PM on August 3, 2020 [19 favorites]


It’s probably best to have an old-fashioned, clunky, but widely appealing flag in order to undercut Sen. Chris McDaniel’s attempts to get the old one back by referendum.

I like the ones with magnolias or simple designs on solid green, because in the Delta, where I grew up, solid green was a popular logo choice. The fields are like a green sea in most seasons. I also see the appeal of the fish. California has a bear—do Californians think about bears as much as Mississippians think about fishing? I have to doubt it.

It’s surprising that more of them don’t feature music when music is one of our most valuable cultural exports.
posted by Countess Elena at 12:05 PM on August 3, 2020 [7 favorites]


“Take one of the top five Google results for ‘magnolia clip art’ and put it on some red/white/blue stripes” is really, really popular.

Thematically I like the variants on “a circle of hands of multiple skin tones”, that is really pushing hard against the history of the South and I am all for that.

I think a lot of these may have been made by kids? My favorite of those is the one with an upside-down cross with WE IN GOD TRUST written around it.

The “river meandering into the distance atop some stripes” is really striking, though I don’t think it’s symbolically dense enough.

My favorite though is “crawfish and two beers”. That’s the South, in all its laid-back, fucked-up glory, for good and for ill. Come to Mississippi y’all, we got crawfish, we got beer, we got a fucked up history we’re trying to put behind us.
posted by egypturnash at 12:07 PM on August 3, 2020 [11 favorites]


Actually no my favorite is the photograph of a computer screen that says EDIT NEW LAYER across the top, and says IN GOD WE TRUST in a big rectangle beneath. With a mouse pointer. Print it.
posted by egypturnash at 12:17 PM on August 3, 2020 [18 favorites]


The University of Mississippi "Ole Miss" supporters must be losing their minds.

Whether we trust in him or not, thank God for the winds of change.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 12:20 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


The recent Radiolab episode on the history of trying to change the Mississippi flag was excellent, imo.
posted by kaibutsu at 12:22 PM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]


Wow these are terrible, thanks.
posted by emjaybee at 12:31 PM on August 3, 2020 [13 favorites]


I just wanna start grabbing some of these and replacing IN GOD WE TRUST with WE’RE TRYING SO HARD.
posted by egypturnash at 12:35 PM on August 3, 2020 [6 favorites]


I didn't expect to have such a visceral negative reaction to the flags with the christian cross in blue with stars on the red field. That SUPER threw me.

I do kind of like the really simple stark black and white ones, even if they do look ominous. and some of the mississippi edge ones are kind of neat. GO BOLD MISSISSIPPI!
posted by larthegreat at 12:37 PM on August 3, 2020 [5 favorites]


The submission period for new flag designs ended August 1

So you're telling me it's too late to submit a flag with just a portrait of Oprah Winfrey with the caption 'in god we trust'.
posted by pwnguin at 12:39 PM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]


Actually no my favorite is the photograph of a computer screen that says EDIT NEW LAYER across the top, and says IN GOD WE TRUST in a big rectangle beneath. With a mouse pointer. Print it.

I love this one. People working together to lay a new layer of history and set it thoughtfully over the past layers. There isn't a lot on the new layer just yet, but the foundation is there just waiting for us to build a better future on it together.
posted by Garm at 12:41 PM on August 3, 2020 [5 favorites]


All candidates should be forced to watch Roman Mars “Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed” TED talk and obey the 5 simple rules.
posted by rh at 12:43 PM on August 3, 2020 [11 favorites]


omg, I finally found the possum flag and I love it.
posted by kaibutsu at 12:45 PM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]


Smush it all together and tell people it says IN GOD WET RUST.
posted by BrotherCaine at 12:53 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


Some of these are pretty good! I appreciate the ones that incorporate the state's shape.

(If only the word "god" were necessary, I'd have suggested incorporating "Thank God for Mississippi")
posted by AgentRocket at 12:54 PM on August 3, 2020


I feel like I just hypnotized myself. I want to go buy a timeshare now.
posted by iamkimiam at 1:00 PM on August 3, 2020 [7 favorites]


Opening flag design to the public submission instead of professional designers is how we get bad flags. Keeping the design statement limited to 'include "In God We Trust", must not contain the Confederate battle flag.' does a huge disservice to the final design. Flags are symbology to convey a message that should communicate how Mississippi chooses to present its past, present and/or future. [see NM flag]
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 1:11 PM on August 3, 2020


E1142 is a sly commentary on the motto thing.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:13 PM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]


Well, this is going poorly.
posted by trappist system at 1:23 PM on August 3, 2020


First I've heard of these "Pic-Time" assholes, but I'm very impressed with their concerted efforts at defeating both sensible page navigation (like arrow and pg up/pg down keys) and any type of deeplinking (like would allow us to actually discuss any of the individual submissions).

At least it's comforting to know they're probably getting paid more to host this stupid contest than Mississippi has spent on schools over the last decade or so.
posted by 7segment at 1:29 PM on August 3, 2020 [8 favorites]


That blue cross with stars in it on a red field is just a confederate flag rotated 45 degrees--those entries are shitty and should be disqualified.

(Also, a lot of these MS flag designs look like they were created with MS Paint.)
posted by box at 1:30 PM on August 3, 2020 [3 favorites]


Props to whoever submitted G1496. I've always thought of Mississippi when seeing the Slack logo.
posted by zekesonxx at 1:30 PM on August 3, 2020


|——————————————————|
|                  |
|   THERE ARE NO   |
|    BAD IDEAS     |
| In God We Trust  |
|                  |
|——————————————————| 
posted by Huffy Puffy at 1:34 PM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]


In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:41 PM on August 3, 2020 [12 favorites]


rh, I thought of that podcast too! Especially ever since I moved to a city that I think has one of the best flags, in a county with a tolerable flag, in a state with such a hardcore flag fandom that I was a little shocked I wasn't automatically issued a flag-pattern crab bumper sticker when we got our new plates. Mississippi, take notes.
posted by bowtiesarecool at 1:44 PM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]


The bicolor flag that's bisected by the shape of the Mississippi River is a pretty good idea, though it would be a million times better without text on it.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 1:46 PM on August 3, 2020 [5 favorites]


I'm from Canada so the magnolia seems like a good angle, if it only didn't have that ugly-ass text on it.

I didn't see any submissions with my idea of putting the text along one side with the dotted-line-and-scissors for where you would cut it off.
posted by RobotHero at 1:48 PM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]


In seriousness though, this is basically the state compelling religious worship (specifically, some form of Christianity) and so these are all uniformly terrible.

I wish the Satanic Temple well in their lawsuit and hope they have some way to help donate to their legal fund.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:49 PM on August 3, 2020 [9 favorites]


I didn't see any submissions with my idea of putting the text along one side with the dotted-line-and-scissors for where you would cut it off.

Make it like a flyer found on a bulletin board, with "in god we trust" being one of many tear-off slips along one edge.
posted by maxwelton at 1:52 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


These aren't just fucking terrible, some belong on a serial killer's filthy walls next to the crucified cockroaches and photos of mother without her eyes.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 2:01 PM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]


"Must not contain the Confederate battle flag" but a ton of these are clearly modeled after the actual flag of the Confederate States of America.

(As is the existing Georgia state flag, and I think several others.)
posted by vogon_poet at 2:06 PM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]


I'd like to see an image with Mississippi and Alabama leaning against one another like back-to-back sister and bro.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 2:11 PM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]


Oh, and since I was recently watching a thing on the design of the Canadian flag, we also took submissions for the flag, here is one submission with the Beatles on it.


Also, fun fact, shortly after the Canadian flag was changed from the red ensign design to the maple leaf, the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario promptly created provincial flags that were just the old flag with provincial coat-of-arms.
posted by RobotHero at 2:14 PM on August 3, 2020 [3 favorites]


When I think of Canada & Beetles, the Mountain Pine Beetle is the first thing that comes to mind, sadly.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:21 PM on August 3, 2020


I like how someone just wrote (I assume) "In God we trust" in Arabic in white on a black flag and slapped that in there.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 2:24 PM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]


My vote goes to the picture of Elijah Moore doing the dog peeing touchdown celebration with a tiny rainbow clipart "In God We Trust" tucked up in the corner.
posted by SpiffyRob at 2:27 PM on August 3, 2020 [13 favorites]


The tablet that's just notes is killing me. As is the guy who wrote in his correction underneath, "Change the # of stars from 19 to 20."

I do like the ones with the bird outline, especially E1266.
posted by gladly at 2:31 PM on August 3, 2020


The one scrawled on a paper towel is perfect. Change nothing.
posted by Bunny Boneyology at 2:31 PM on August 3, 2020 [3 favorites]


Graphic design and idolatry are my passions
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 2:33 PM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]


Having just looked at the flags of all the other states, most states should do this every 20-50 years or so.

Alaska, Arizona, Maryland, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas: you’re good.

Arkansas, Hawaii, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, maybe Oregon: you’re in pretty good shape, but maybe you can come up with something great.

Everybody else: You can do better.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 2:37 PM on August 3, 2020 [3 favorites]


E1011 wasn't there the first time I looked at this page, but it's there now, and, even with a small typo in the word 'vexillogical,' it's my new favorite.
posted by box at 2:40 PM on August 3, 2020


My vote goes to the picture of Elijah Moore doing the dog peeing touchdown celebration with a tiny rainbow clipart "In God We Trust" tucked up in the corner.

The only way to make it better would be to add a yellow penalty flag to the flag. Maybe that’s where “In God We Trust” could be.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 2:40 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


Bannerman, rejoice.
Steeplejacks high
for whats been nigh
m-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i.
posted by clavdivs at 2:42 PM on August 3, 2020


For those needing a five minute recap, here's 50 Americans try to describe their state's flag. And on the back, there's a beaver.

Also, a general Nay to text on flags; but I do have a soft spot for little Rhode Island's 'the Anchor of Hope'.
posted by bartleby at 2:42 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


Arkansas is not in pretty good shape, flag-wise. See those four stars in the middle of the flag? The bottom three represent Spain, France, and the United States. The one on top represents the Confederacy.
posted by box at 2:43 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


Well, I like many of those magnolia flowers. Magnolias are one of the best things about Mississippi, and something that they can actually be proud of.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 2:46 PM on August 3, 2020 [5 favorites]


Dammit Arkansas, don’t be trying to be all sneaky.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 2:46 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


Rhode Island’s flag is pretty great, and, while it has text, it’s just 4 letters.
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:50 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


trying to be all sneaky
Some of us Yankees give Tennessee a bit of side-eye for their particular choice of color scheme. But bonus points for incorporating the stars in such a way that aligning them properly is impossible.
posted by bartleby at 2:58 PM on August 3, 2020


Yeah, but those four letters could've been shortened to just the Superman "S", so it's really quite an inefficient design when you think about it.
posted by Riki tiki at 2:59 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


The magnolia blossom isn’t easy to stylize, but using the Yorkist rose seems like borrowing trouble.

I like the river meandering! At least one had an oxbow lake.
posted by clew at 3:02 PM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]


Huffy Puffy: "Everybody else: You can do better."

I'll have you know that the Colorado state flag is beloved here for honoring our Pac-person ancestors. I will not stand here and let you insult it, I'm leaving.

waka waka waka waka waka waka waka waka
posted by Riki tiki at 3:06 PM on August 3, 2020 [15 favorites]


(I actually quite like our flag, but it truly does look like the state is moments away from finally being able to chase down those pesky ghosts)
posted by Riki tiki at 3:10 PM on August 3, 2020 [3 favorites]


Maryland also incorporates the Confederacy in it's state flag, by honoring both sides of the U.S. Civil War. If you don't think that's right, wait until you hear about our state song. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Maryland
posted by postel's law at 3:11 PM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]


Just to get our friends down south (WAY south) in on the flag action,
US Latinos guess Latin American Flags. "And now comes all the yellow, red, and blue flags. Oy."
posted by bartleby at 3:20 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


website for public comment

The new flag will include the new motto: Flaggy McFlagface

Or is it Mississippi McMississippiface?
posted by Dr. Curare at 3:38 PM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]


Ms. Sippi McSippiface, surely.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:45 PM on August 3, 2020 [11 favorites]


If the end result of this were that the flag just ended up being a picture of David Attenborough, there could be worse outcomes.
posted by biogeo at 3:45 PM on August 3, 2020


Ladies, gentlemen, and all the ships at sea. For your consideration, I present you with this: the best of all possible Mississippi flag designs.

Look on this work, ye Mighty, and despair!
posted by springo at 3:51 PM on August 3, 2020 [11 favorites]


(Also,I don’t like any of the non-rectangular ones. That’s Ohio’s thing (and Nepal’s).)
posted by box at 3:56 PM on August 3, 2020 [3 favorites]


Colorado state flag

No, wait- it's at least a C+!
posted by zamboni at 3:59 PM on August 3, 2020 [5 favorites]


I'll wait for those of you with jobs to winnow through and come up with some good ones.
posted by rhizome at 4:12 PM on August 3, 2020


This Radiolab on the Mississippi state flag changing and one person’s well-thought proposal and design for a new flag is really interesting and engaging. LINK

I think her design is pretty boss LINK but does use stars and bars. Having once lived in Mississippi, I’m floored that they are finally at this point. The “god we trust” stipulation is bullshit but we must appease the white hegemony somehow, I guess.
posted by amanda at 4:22 PM on August 3, 2020


Obviously it should be the Mississippi Goddam type graphic from Nina Simone's legendary single accompanied by a silhouette of her glorious head and afro
posted by thecincinnatikid at 5:22 PM on August 3, 2020 [3 favorites]


my eyes, the goggles do nothing
posted by entropicamericana at 5:41 PM on August 3, 2020


The Arabic one is far and away my favorite just because of how many people would implode if that were selected. Most are obviously terrible, but there are some good ones mixed in there. Hopefully they choose well.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:45 PM on August 3, 2020 [3 favorites]


Between these and the Rockefeller Flag Project winners I've seen a staggering amount of terrible flag designs this week.
posted by Liquidwolf at 6:03 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


In God We Trust is the part that appears to be a block for so many of the "designers."

I did like E1311 which has a golden wheel and blue waves with "In god we trust" on the wheel so it blends in.
posted by vespabelle at 6:29 PM on August 3, 2020


The Possum flag was a solid level of wow. But...

The Catfish smoking a cigar sitting on the porch in the rocking chair holding a shotgun drinking a beer with a bottle of moonshine and a banjo in the distance with the FORT GIBSON flag.... Truly a masterpiece.
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:39 PM on August 3, 2020 [10 favorites]


nthing the Arabic version. For better or worse, nothing says 'theocracy' these days better than Arabic script. So it's symbolically a strong way to present the message of trusting in the deity. I think the black background is a poor choice though. Aesthetically -- it's a tad too stark, but also because it would invite confusion with the flag of Daesh. I propose, instead, a background divided half and half into a broad horizontal red band below and a blue one above. In the center, over both, the legislatively mandated phrase in Arabic and white, as is.. This red, white and blue scheme would give continuity with that of the superseded Mississippi flag, and make clear that the god invoked is American.
posted by bertran at 6:54 PM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]


I went through and screenshotted some of my favorites. They're here.

I went through it twice before I found the Possum flag.
posted by egypturnash at 8:06 PM on August 3, 2020 [6 favorites]


oops, sorry, cut and paste failure - my favorites are here.
posted by egypturnash at 8:16 PM on August 3, 2020 [17 favorites]


This reminds me of John Oliver on the New Zealand flag debate from 2015
posted by Gorgik at 8:45 PM on August 3, 2020


egypturnash: You are a saint. The nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
posted by kaibutsu at 9:14 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]


Wait is this a serious initiative

I am hopped up on cold medicine so I can't tell
posted by Kitchen Witch at 12:11 AM on August 4, 2020


egypturnash: thanks for the executive summary. I was thinking that the Miss flag archive would be a good machine learning project for a comp.sci. student to gather all the similar flags into bins. A link to Zip-code would be helpful because some look like trivially different hedge-betting variations from the same CAD desk.
posted by BobTheScientist at 2:19 AM on August 4, 2020 [1 favorite]


I'll have you know that the Colorado state flag is beloved here for honoring our Pac-person ancestors.

I always thought it looked like the logo of a discount convenience store or possibly one of the more avant-garde banks.

On a related note, the Greggs logo has never said "baked goods here" to me. Instead it says "Stop in for...financial planning? Vacation packages? Apartment listings? Your guess is as good as ours."
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 4:30 AM on August 4, 2020 [3 favorites]


Psssst. They're 4 chicken slices
posted by fullerine at 4:48 AM on August 4, 2020


What is with all the weird plagiarism of various Nordic flags? So far I see one which seems pretty clearly ripped off from that of Finland, and another submission that is straight-up just the Norwegian flag with 'In God we trust' slapped on the bottom. Is it a white-supremacist thing? A coded message asking the Kingdom of Norway to annex Mississippi?

Also clearly they should just go with the possum one, I mean come on.
posted by peakes at 5:50 AM on August 4, 2020 [1 favorite]


I always thought [Colorado's flag] looked like the logo of a discount convenience store or possibly one of the more avant-garde banks.

Or a Democratic presidential campaign. It has that abstracted-single-letter iconography that I've come to associate with Democratic logos, somehow.
posted by jackbishop at 6:19 AM on August 4, 2020 [1 favorite]


I like the ones where the required text is small and hides in the circle of stars.

As a St. Louisan, the "M" ones just make me think "Metro", and the wavy river ones are obviously inferior to this.
posted by Foosnark at 6:44 AM on August 4, 2020


Also, fun fact, shortly after the Canadian flag was changed from the red ensign design to the maple leaf, the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario promptly created provincial flags that were just the old flag with provincial coat-of-arms.

At the ferry docks on Toronto Island, there is or was (I haven’t been in years), a row of flagpoles with all the provincial and territorial ensigns. Around 1999 or 2000, I was on the island and I was pleased to see the flag of Nunavut included (note to normal people not hung up on Canadian geographic history: Nunavut is the newest territory, created on April 1, 1999). A closer examination revealed that there were still only twelve flagpoles, which was hard to reconcile with the current total of ten provinces and three territories. Looking down the row, I noticed that the Manitoba flag was missing. I guess that is one solution.

Note that it is not the only solution: the Great Hall of Union Station has a line of a dozen flags at rest on the north wall. Formerly these were the provinces and territories as well; when Nunavut was created, rather than deal with altering the dozen flag mountings in the stone wall, they just shrugged and took down the territorial flags, replacing them with a curiously undersized national flag at each end of the row. It's a weird dismissal of territorial importance.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:02 AM on August 4, 2020 [3 favorites]


Some of us Yankees give Tennessee a bit of side-eye for their particular choice of color scheme. But bonus points for incorporating the stars in such a way that aligning them properly is impossible.


Tennessee's flag looks like an emjoi or a very happy bowling ball.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:41 AM on August 4, 2020


I genuinely like the possum flag even though I am aware it violates vexillogical best practices and the font is stupid.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 7:50 AM on August 4, 2020 [2 favorites]


Partly because of the implication that Mississippi worships possums.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 7:57 AM on August 4, 2020 [2 favorites]


He venerate at own ass
posted by evidenceofabsence at 8:28 AM on August 4, 2020 [1 favorite]


So, there's a lot of ways to make me feel uncomfortable in MS. /shrug
posted by sydnius at 10:39 AM on August 4, 2020 [2 favorites]


Tennessee's flag is clearly some sort of subliminal advertising for Mitsubishi.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 10:50 AM on August 4, 2020


Mississippi

In the majority's conception of God everyone is expected to trust.
posted by Daddy-O at 11:46 AM on August 4, 2020


what is with all the exploding bomb god flags
posted by benzenedream at 1:11 PM on August 4, 2020


I want to invent a conlang where "In God We Trust" translates to "He Scream at Own Ass" just for the possum flag.

Also, is there a submission with usefully placed scare quotes around, say, "God" or "Trust"?
posted by axiom at 1:37 PM on August 4, 2020 [1 favorite]


Oh god, I hate Maryland's flag for very personal reasons (I didn't even know about the Confederate associations). I got assigned Maryland as my flag to make for our school presentation on the states, and let me tell you--that flag is extremely difficult to replicate when you are a third-grader and you have to do it with fucking construction paper and poster board. Even trying to trace the red and white sort of fleur-de-lis-style pieces, and get the exact angle of each different black and yellow piece, and then cut around them with stupid kid scissors that are older than you are, is a herculean task. My hands were swollen from the scissor cutting--every time I thought I had the right size piece, I'd find that things didn't go together like they were supposed to, and getting the tracings to scale for the assigned size and then cut them accurately was hell. I had paste in my hair and it was all wadded up, and paste on my hands and arms and face. Then my sister pointed out all its myriad flaws and how magnificent her flag looked (she got some easy-ass flag like South Carolina), and when we had to go out on the stage and show off our creations, I can still hear the scorn dripping from the teacher's voice when she said Maryland. I'm glad to know about its racist connections, honestly, because it gives me all the more reason to despise it.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 1:40 PM on August 4, 2020 [4 favorites]


Goodness, there are a lot of fuck-you flags in this lineup, aren't there? Given the constraints, one of the blue and white ones labeled MISSISSIPPI (like a souvenir license plate) is probably the best bet. I'm glad I'm not more sensitive to bad design, because five minutes of scrolling through these honestly gave me a headache. I never managed to find the possum flag, but I have a real soft spot for the photoshopped Black and White hands holding a magnolia in front of some red, white, and purple rectangles??? That's some real "friendship ended with confederacy, color-blind future is my new best friend" energy. It's obviously still not as good as a flag with a BEAR on it, but not every state can be as lucky as California.
posted by grandiloquiet at 1:51 PM on August 4, 2020 [2 favorites]


MetaFilter: It's obviously still not as good as a flag with a BEAR on it
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:19 AM on August 5, 2020 [3 favorites]


Mississippi has previous experience with bears; I was a little disappointed to not see any land sharks submitted.

Also, here are a bunch of license plates, in case you were wondering where some recurring motifs came from.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:48 AM on August 5, 2020 [1 favorite]


Update: Here’s Round 2, with the top 147 designs.

Friday they pick their 5 finalists.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 1:27 PM on August 10, 2020 [4 favorites]


(Quick review: I hope you like magnolias.)

ALSO THE MOSQUITO MADE THE CUT!!!!! 🦟
posted by Huffy Puffy at 1:31 PM on August 10, 2020 [5 favorites]


Well, I'm glad very few of the 'if you squint you can still see the battle flag' designs made it out of Round 1 (though G1349, G1350, G1353, X1179 are vaguely reminiscent), but there is a lot of stars and bars going on, perhaps unintentionally so. There are, after all, only so many ways to arrange three colors.

Which is maybe the biggest failure of imagination -- limiting yourself to red white and blue.
posted by pwnguin at 2:18 PM on August 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


The days of Maryland flags are behind us, I suspect.
posted by rhizome at 5:43 PM on August 10, 2020


"In God We Trust" ruins everything, all of the flags are b-a-d bad. The only one that could possibly redeem this whole thing is if one of the flags with the state's image had Alabama instead.
posted by rhizome at 5:46 PM on August 10, 2020


My heart will go on for you, possum flag.
posted by kaibutsu at 9:36 PM on August 10, 2020 [4 favorites]


I'm just happy none of the christian cross ones made it in. that was a BAD visceral reaction.

I like the bi-color simplicity of Y1057, with my runners up J1317 and K1435. I like the simpler ones significantly more.
posted by larthegreat at 12:51 PM on August 11, 2020




dear cortex please add a mosquito flag
posted by Huffy Puffy at 1:57 PM on August 11, 2020


Does Metafilter have a flag hint hint
posted by rhizome at 3:01 PM on August 11, 2020


I made one for meetups - “[+]” in yellow glued to screen, so the sky and trees were the background.
posted by clew at 3:52 PM on August 11, 2020


But does it have “In mods we trust (mostly)” written on it?
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:13 PM on August 11, 2020 [2 favorites]


With flag with note you can make any flag you want

🦟
posted by Huffy Puffy at 4:45 PM on August 11, 2020 [1 favorite]


i misunderstood Huffy Puffy's request and added a mosquito tag the post and i'm gonna leave it
posted by cortex at 4:46 PM on August 11, 2020 [7 favorites]


It's the final 9, and you can vote for your favorite! (1 vote per IP address, looks like, and it's nonbinding).

Final 5 next Tuesday, which they'll prototype into actual flags before picking the winner.

News link if that link doesn't work right.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 5:59 AM on August 18, 2020


Number 9 (for me, anyway, don't know if they're randomized, they probably should be) has its own website and is currently the frontrunner.

(Also, number 6 is super ugly, number 1 is pretty good and I feel like it should be getting more votes, people just don't like green flags, and, since a lawsuit is pretty much inevitable, we should probably consider what these will look like if the 'In God We Trust' is removed.)
posted by box at 6:27 AM on August 18, 2020


To me, #9 looks too much like the current Union Pacific Railroad logo.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:00 AM on August 18, 2020


Here's hoping at least one of the Gondor flags makes it through to the next round
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 7:16 AM on August 18, 2020 [2 favorites]


Whoops, they posted those on Friday and the voting period is over; here's the top 5. (No green anymore, which is disappointing.)
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:32 AM on August 18, 2020


I say the first or the fifth are the only legitimate options, since "In God We Trust" is not integral to the designs and so can easily be removed from the flag in the future. And really, they aren't bad flags once you take it off.
posted by rhizome at 12:08 PM on August 18, 2020


#5 is a little bit White Tree of Numenor, no?
[Sterling Archer voice] Do you want people LARPing as Dunedain Rangers? Because this is how you get Dunedain Rangers.
posted by bartleby at 12:32 PM on August 18, 2020 [2 favorites]


Do you want people LARPing as Dunedain Rangers?

Yes?
posted by mikelieman at 3:35 PM on August 18, 2020 [3 favorites]


They made prototype flags and cut down to final 3.

Farewell to Bart Simpson and the White Tree of Numenor. Final 3 are Boring Great River Crest, Magnolia on Blue with Red, and Magnolia on White with Red and Blue.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:09 AM on August 25, 2020


Call me a bandwagon jumper, but I'm pulling for Boring Great River Crest.
posted by box at 11:20 AM on August 25, 2020 [1 favorite]


They’ve also eliminated the mostly-white magnolia flower flag, so we’re down to the other 2.

Mississippi: I hope you like blue
posted by Huffy Puffy at 11:45 AM on August 25, 2020


I mean, 'that state where the elf-friends and rangers come from' would certainly be a positive PR shift for the state of Mississippi.
posted by kaibutsu at 12:04 PM on August 25, 2020 [1 favorite]


They picked the magnolia flag (on blue background, with thin gold and thick vertical red stripes.

It will be on the ballot for November. If the voters vote for it, it’s the new flag. If they vote no, they start over again.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:40 AM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]


I like the magnolia flag, not because it's the best but because it's comfortable. It has a late-'90s jewel-tone-fabric quality that reminds me of the house of my late grandmother, who lived just outside the capital. She would have liked it.

There's possible trouble, considering the magnolia's past as a Confederate symbol during the war, but I do not know how much trouble that is. Unlike the Starry Cross, Mississippi's magnolia flag -- a much different design -- was retired out of living memory and has not been used as a symbol of terror in modern times. Also, magnolia trees are everywhere in Mississippi and generally well liked. Still, I am not the person who decides whether something carries a racist meaning or not, so we will have to see.
posted by Countess Elena at 1:28 PM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]


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