South Carolinians Mock Redesigned Palmetto Tree on Proposed State Flag
A proposed new look for the beloved state tree has drawn complaints that it looks like a toilet brush or like one of the palmettos battered by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
“They just think the tree is not a very pretty tree,” Ronnie Cromer, a South Carolina state senator, said of the public reaction to a proposed redesign of the state flag.Credit.South Carolina Flag Study Committee
Jan. 3, 2021
The goal was to come up with a standard design for the South Carolina state flag, one that residents could rally around, fly from their porches or proudly display on T-shirts, mugs and hats. But a proposed redesign of the beloved palmetto tree on the flag hasn’t exactly made hearts swell with state pride.
New South Carolina flag design heads back to drawing board
January 2, 2021 GMT
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) A committee trying to standardize the iconic design of the South Carolina state flag is starting over after residents ridiculed the historians’ first attempt.
The Post and Courier reports that the lawmaker-selected team of historians chosen to straighten out the design are taking critics’ complaints in stride.
The South Carolina flag features a palmetto tree and a crescent on an indigo background. But the state has lacked a standard flag design since 1940, meaning flag manufacturers are at liberty to choose their own shades of blue and adjust the curve of the crescent to their liking.
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History met the modern age in the worst way when South Carolina residents got their first look at the proposed state flag.
A committee of historians got together to decide on the specifics of the state flag, which largely followed the example of two previous official flags.
The state previously used a design that depicted a palmetto tree and a crescent moon, and the historians wished to honor the state’s heritage by adopting a variation of it.
Scott Malyerck illustrated the variations, and he created a Facebook page to help generate discussion and ideas for the new look, according to ABC News 4.
As it turns out, people hate it. They really, really hate it.
The new design has garnered thousands of complaints since it was presented in a Post and Courier story this week. In response to the backlash, the historians who developed the new design plan to revise it before lawmakers can vote to approve it next year.
The new banner features a darker shade of indigo than some previous editions and a crescent in the upper left corner that is largely unchanged.
But critics say the flagâs designers butchered the iconic palmetto tree in the center, a crucial component that makes the Palmetto Stateâs flag one of the best in the United States.