The looming legacy of the Confederacy in Southern state flags

When I wrote about boring U.S. state flags on Monday, most Southern states were notably absent. A civil war based in part on state sovereignty will do that: for the most part, Southern states have more interesting flags than their Northern counterparts. But that's not always a good thing. The flags of the Confederate States of America have loomed over Southern state flags like a ghost for a century and a half.

It's tough for Southern states. They want to develop a cohesive flag identity that links them together without relying on their most famous flags, which evoke a history of slavery and oppression. Some states have fared better than others.

Current Mississippi flag, adopted 1894

Rejected 2001 proposal
for Mississippi flag

Mississippi is the only state still to feature the Confederate battle flag in its state flag. A vote was held in 2001 to replace it with the flag you see on the right.
The proposal replaced the Confederate flag in the canton with a blue field featuring three rings of stars: the outer ring representing the thirteen original colonies, the middle ring to represent the six nations to have held sovereignty over the state, and the larger star in the middle to represent Mississippi itself. It adds up to twenty stars, representing Mississippi's status as the 20th state. Unfortunately, the incumbent flag with Confederate imagery won the vote.

SpongeBob is a metaphor for TV racism.

SpongeBob, the non-fish protagonist, celebrated by the all-fish background cast

SpongeBob SquarePants is one of the most popular children's shows in the world, and it's aired for over a decade now. But as the most famous cartoon about sea life, it bothers me a bit: why is this underwater TV series devoid of any major characters who are fish?

The whole show features a thriving aquatic community, yet none of the main characters are fish. Instead, we've got a sponge, a squid, a sea star, a crab, and a squirrel. Even most of the minor characters aren't fish: a whale, a plankter, a lobster, the ghost of a human. The only fish in the entire cast is a marginal character named Mrs. Puff, the driving instructor. The show was created by Stephen Hillenburg, a marine biologist, so he should know better. He's doing it on purpose.

Despite this lack of fish, virtually all the background characters and "extras" in SpongeBob are fish. Why is this? Why are there so many fish, yet almost none of them are fleshed-out characters in the show?

The all-white cast of Friends, set in New York City

It's a commentary on modern television; in particular, the sitcoms of the late '90s when SpongeBob was created. Think about iconic '90s TV comedies like Seinfeld and Friends. They took place in major cities like New York--incredibly multicultural urban areas. Yet the main characters of these shows were all white. There were hardly ever even any non-white guest stars.

Is SpongeBob SquarePants a reference to television racism, or is it merely forgetful of fish? You decide.