Author Rebecca Morris tipped off the Seattle Times to a Confederate flag in her neighborhood that was really the Norwegian banner
A New York Times best-selling author who specializes in crime smelled trouble when she thought she saw a Confederate flag waving in her neighborhood.
Author Rebecca Morris then tipped off the Seattle Times who went to investigate the banner waving in the Greenwood neighborhood of the city.
However upon investigation it turned out that the suspected Confederate banner was actually the Norwegian national flag, raised by a patriot in support of Team Norway in the Winter Olympics.
After understanding her mistake Morris acredited her misinterpretation to the heated political climate.
‘Maybe that’s the story … we’re so stressed by all things political that we see things that aren’t there,’ she said.
Morris sent a tip to the paper saying she wanted to know what the flag meant in her community.
‘Hi. Suddenly there is a Confederate flag flying in front of a house in my Greenwood neighborhood. It is at the north-east corner of 92nd and Palatine, just a block west of 92nd and Greenwood Ave N,’ she said.
‘Maybe that’s the story … we’re so stressed by all things political that we see things that aren’t there
‘I would love to know what this “means” … but of course don’t want to knock on their door. Maybe others in the area are flying the flag? Maybe it’s a story? Thank you,’ she added.
Investigators immediately went to check out the commotion and found a flagpole with the US flag waving and directly below it red flag with blue and white stripes making a cross upon it.
It was not the Confederate flag after all, despite sharing the same colors. The emblem of Southern heritage is red but differs from Norway because of its blue ‘X’ running along its width, with white stars within it.
Close, but not quite: Morris mistook the Norwegian flag (right) for the Confederate streamer (left) because the two share the same colors, however different designs
Represent: Homeowner Darold Norman Strangeland clarified that he waved the flag outside his home to support his Norwegian heritage as the nation sweeps gold in the Winter Olympics
Support! Norwegians at Pyeongchang, South Korea wear Viking hats and wave the Norway flag to support their nation’s strides in the Winter Games
The flag in question was actually Norway’s national flag, displayed by homeowner Darold Norman Strangeland in honor of Norway’s performance in the Winter Olympics.
‘That’s a Norwegian flag. It’s been up there since the start of the Olympics,’ he said to the Seattle Times.
‘I’m a proud Norwegian-American. My parents emigrated here in the mid-1950s. He skippered tugboats,’ he added.
The reporters at the Seattle Times then returned to the crime writer explaining the blunder.
‘Are you kidding me?’ she replied, saying after spotting the flag, she researched the image of the Confederate flag to assure it matched the one on the pole.
Caught! Twitter users were quick to point fingers at the author for her flag blunder
One user criticized her history knowledge when she mistook Norway’s flag for the Confederate one
Another user mentioned that her mistake was representative of America’s poor education
One local noted that Norwegian flags wave all year round in the area and are not uncommon
After realizing her mistake she accredited the oversight to the heightened political climate
‘Well, it does look like the Norwegian flag!’ she said after re-assessing the streamer.
Strangeland had a good reason to wave his nation’s banner as Norway has raked in 13 gold medals, 14 silver, and 10 bronze thus far in the Winter Games.
Twitter users were quick to point fingers at the author for her blunder, many claiming that the two flags look nothing alike.
‘Geez! Research before you speak people,’ one user wrote.
‘And that is what is called American education,’ another criticized.
‘I bet she flunked history,’ another user said.
‘She lives in greenwood which is next to Ballard where they fly Norwegian flags year round & she still doesn’t get it? And her opp. & subsequent fail & utter inability to express self deprecation & sense of humor at the situation she created is not surprising (sic),’ one Twitter user said.