Flying the Flag

As noted by Lum, there was recently a minor disturbance in a Chinese MMO called “The Fantasy of the Journey West” (catchy title, that) when players decided that an image of a red sun on a wall looked a little too similar to the Japanese flag. Why the protests? Well, many Americans may not be aware of the lengthy history of conflict between these two nations, which results in feelings that linger to this day. (Side note: One of my favorite films depicts certain aspects of this conflict.)

This phenomenon is not limited to Asian games, of course.

Every so often in an MMO (though it is more common after a game first launches), somone starts a thread complaining that a certain object looks like a religious symbol, or a penis, or something else that offends them. They usually demand that the artwork be removed from the game, and when other posters challenge their point of view, the OP goes on the attack. Flames ensue, and eventually one or more zealots on one side or the other get banned from the forums.

In 99% of such cases, of course, any resemblance to a real-world religious, political, or sexual icon is purely coincidental. But as any smart deity knows, there are folks out there on the Intarweb that love to spend their time looking for anything that can be considered controversial. And when you spend that much time looking for something, you’re certain to find it–at least in your own mind.

The builders of games designed to attract a broad audience (which is to say, every single commercial game ever made) have absolutely no desire to piss off a good portion of said audience. I mean, imagine if an American MMO maker put banners in its game that bore a strong resemblance to the Confederate battle flag. It would be understandable if any number of folks got upset by seeing something that serves as a reminder of a bloody war that tore apart the country and a flag flown by separatists bent on the continuation of slavery.

Well, if not for the fact that some people still try to defend the Confederate battle flag as a symbol of southern pride, emblazoning it on everything from t-shirts to belt buckles to car decals. In the 21st-freaking-century, no less.

Now, before I get angry responses from those who want to defend the use of the Confederate battle flag with the “southern pride” argument, let me just say a couple things. First, the contention that “sure it may have stood for slavery at one point in time, but it doesn’t anymore” just doesn’t cut it. That’s like someone flying a Nazi flag and trying to sell it as a symbol of German pride rather than the banner of a horrific government bent on domination and extermination. There is way, way too much history and emotion tied up in those flags to make such an argument tenable. Secondly, while it’s great to have pride in where you’re from, just pick a different symbol–if not for yourselves, then out of respect to the feelings of others. There is so much great history and tradition in the south to be proud of, nobody needs to rely on a flag from a dark period in our history as such an icon.

Flags can mean a lot to people. I admit that it took the attacks on September 11 for me to really understand what the American flag means to me. But we must take care to remember that it is not so much the flag that is important as the people it flies over.