‘Suddenly there is a Confederate flag flying’ in Seattle’s Greenwood area – well, not quite
Originally published February 22, 2018 at 6:00 am Updated February 22, 2018 at 12:39 pm
Rebecca Morris wanted to know why somebody was flying a Confederate flag in her Greenwood neighborhood. It wasn’t a Confederate flag; it was a Norwegian flag. (Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times)
In our political climate, a Norwegian flag, with its blue-and-white cross, was mistaken for a Confederate flag. Questions ensued in the Greenwood neighborhood.
Erik Lacitis
Seattle Times staff reporter
A story about the times we live in, and assumptions we can make in our current political climate.
The news tip a few days ago said:
If you do some Googling, you find other incidents in which the same mistake happened.
From The Lewisboro Ledger in New York, Oct. 18, 2012: “Confederate or Norwegian? Flag misunderstood in reservation.”
The woman who had the small Norwegian flag on her property on Ward Pound Ridge Reservation was reported to the reservation’s office and was quoted, “It was embarrassing. Everyone in the county was asking me if I’m flying a rebel flag.”
When told she had mistaken the flag, Morris says, “Are you kidding me?”
She says she had even looked up the Confederate flag online and it sure looked to her like the flag on that corner.
But on a second look, “Well, it does look like the Norwegian flag!”
She says, “Maybe that’s the story … we’re so stressed by all things political that we see things that aren’t there.”
Better hope the Russian bots don’t decide to repost their slightly altered version.
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