2175: Flag Interpretation

2019-07-12T21:54:23Z

Msto12: Corrected explanation for the trolley problem reference

{{comic
| number = 2175
| date = July 12, 2019
| title = Flag Interpretation
| image = flag_interpretation.png
| titletext = When Salvador Dalí died, it took months to get all the flagpoles sufficiently melted.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an IMPORTANT CLONE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In many countries including the United States (whose flag is depicted in the comic), it is customary to lower the flag to {{w|half staff}} when important public figures die. In the US, regulations regarding flying the flag at half staff specify the length of time for the flag to be flown at half staff, and are based on the importance of the person who has died. There are no regulations where the flag would be flown at any height other than full height or half staff, and there are no regulations where multiple flags would be flown.

Randall, as usual, makes a humorous list of fictional additional traditions.

Flying the US flag {{w|Distress_signal#Inverted_flags|upside down}} is widely considered a distress signal, and would not be intended to indicate an important figure has died. Since on average [https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ someone dies every few seconds], it would indeed be extremely unlikely that no one would die for weeks in a row. Although not having anyone die seems good on the surface, it would trigger alarm about why this was happening; what mysterious force could possibly cause cessation of all deaths? And will it continue into the future, triggering an overpopulation crisis in short order?

The second-to-last panel is a reference to the {{w|Trolley problem}}, a well-known thought experiment in ethics: An out-of-control trolley is running toward five people who are on the tracks. If you do nothing, these five will be killed. However, you can trigger a switch that will divert the trolley onto a side track, where there is one person on the tracks who would be killed. Which is the more ethical option?

The title text is a reference to ''{{w|The Persistence of Memory}}'' and other paintings and sculptures by {{w|Salvador Dalí}} which include watches and other objects that are melting.

==Table==
{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"
! Flag Position !! Randall's Interpretation || Explanation
|-
|Flag at half mast
|Someone important died.
|
|-
|Flag at three-quarter mast.
|Someone died but we're not sure how we feel about them.
|Randall seems to interpret a single full-mast flag as meaning "nobody important died". If so, 3/4 mast is a compromise between that and the half mast meaning; another way to interpret it might be to say "someone half-important died".
|-
|Flag at base of the mast.
|Everyone important died.
|Likewise, if the flag is lowered halfway when one important person dies, lowering it twice as far implies that multiple important people have died. No intermediate positions are shown, so we can't be sure exactly how many.
|-
|Two flags at full mast.
|Someone important was successfully cloned.
|
|-
|Two flags at half mast.
|An important person died battling their evil clone.
|
|-
|Flag at half mast and upside-down.
|Nobody has died for weeks and that seems good but statistically it's very alarming.
|
|-
|One normal-sized flag at half mast and five tiny flags at full mast.
|Someone diverted a trolley to save five people by killing one important person.
|This is a reference to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem trolley problem.]
|-
|No flag on the pole.
|The person who knows where the flag is stored at night died.
|Nobody living knows where the flag is stored, and can't seem to locate it to put it on the flagpole. Presumably the flag-keeper died at night, or the flag could still be flying. Or it may have been stolen.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[8 panels in 2 rows, 4 panels per row - each panel shows a flagpole in a different state of flying flag(s) with a caption at the bottom of the panel below the flagpole.]
:[The US flag at half mast.]
:Caption: Someone important died
:[The same flag at three-quarter mast.]
:Caption: Someone died but we're not sure how we feel about them
:[The flag at the base of the mast.]
:Caption: Everyone important died
:[Two identical flags at full mast.]
:Caption: Someone important was successfully cloned
:[Two identical flags at half mast.]
:Caption: An important person died battling their evil clone
:[An upside-down flag at half mast.]
:Caption: Nobody has died for weeks and that seems good but statistically it's very alarming.
:[A normal-sized flag at half mast and five tiny flags at full mast.]
:Caption: Someone diverted a trolley to save five people by killing one important person
:[A flagpole with no flag.]
:Caption: The person who knows where the flag is stored at night died.

{{comic discussion}}

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2175: Flag Interpretation