EGN NEWS DESK
The inauguration of Mayor Daniel Lurie of San Francisco on Wednesday within the plaza outdoors City Hall had all of it: distinguished audio system, a packed viewers, and performers starting from Chinese lion dancers to the Gay Men’s Chorus.
But eagle-eyed observers may need seen one thing lacking. Or, actually, 18 issues lacking. Two rows of 9 historic banners, generally known as the Pavilion of American Flags, have been gone from the plaza. In their place have been 18 matching light-blue flags with the town seal.
A brand new day in San Francisco? Nope. Not on the flag entrance, anyway. By Friday morning, the previous ones have been again, billowing within the breeze.
The metropolis’s flag assortment drew consideration in May when a San Francisco resident raised issues that the quintessentially liberal metropolis was flying the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which had additionally been noticed outdoors Justice Samuel A. Alito’s New Jersey trip dwelling.
Originally flown by George Washington’s ships within the Revolutionary War as an emblem of riot in opposition to the British, the white flag with a inexperienced pine tree has since grow to be related to the “Stop the Steal” motion. Some rioters carried it as they stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, searching for to cease Joseph R. Biden Jr. from being licensed because the winner of the presidential election.
Critics stated Justice Alito ought to recuse himself from instances associated to the Jan. 6 assault for displaying the flag, however he didn’t, saying his spouse was the one chargeable for flying it.
Mayor London Breed, who misplaced to Mr. Lurie within the November election, eliminated the “Appeal to Heaven” flag from the town’s show in May and changed it with an American flag. She stated on the time that she would think about eradicating others that have been provocative, however didn’t find yourself doing so earlier than she left workplace.
Still flying below her watch — and once more Friday, below Mr. Lurie’s — was the Gadsden flag, a yellow banner with a coiled rattlesnake and the phrases “Don’t Tread on Me” that has grow to be related to the conservative Tea Party motion and gun lovers and is taken into account by some to have racist connotations.
Also nonetheless flying is the Betsy Ross flag, a Revolutionary War flag with 13 stars in a circle. That flag, too, has grow to be controversial, adopted by some far-right teams to suggest a time when white males held all energy. Nike even pulled sneakers with the flag in 2019 on the urging of former N.F.L. quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who stated the flag was linked to slavery.
Both the Gadsden flag and the Betsy Ross flag have been carried by Jan. 6 rioters. A spokesman for Mr. Lurie stated on Friday that the mayor would overview the present assortment of flags.
Since 1964, San Francisco’s pavilion has showcased flags that performed an necessary position within the nation’s historical past. A Confederate flag flew within the show for 20 years earlier than a protester twice tore it down and Mayor Dianne Feinstein determined, after the second time, to not reinstall it.
On Wednesday, the flags quickly vanished. The gentle blue replacements matched the scores of banners hanging from gentle poles, far bigger banners hanging on the facade of City Hall and fancy applications handed out to company.
The occasion’s night element was even splashier: a avenue party in Chinatown that featured fireworks and a efficiency by the digital music producer Zhu.
A marketing campaign spokesman for Mr. Lurie, an inheritor to the Levi Strauss fortune who spent practically $9 million of his personal cash on his marketing campaign, declined to say how a lot the décor and festivities value or who paid for all of it. He stated the disclosures could be made public inside 30 days of the inauguration as required by legislation.
The occasion’s producer, Stanlee Gatti, designed the inauguration and stated the sunshine blue signified hope. He stated he would encourage the brand new mayor to study concerning the historical past of the flags and why they’d been co-opted by teams just like the Jan. 6 rioters.
“Different individuals interpret issues in several methods,” he stated. “But if it’s grow to be one thing that’s anti-American, yeah, after all I believe they need to come down.”
Mr. Gatti famous that San Franciscans may recognize the inclusion of a Pride flag supporting L.G.B.T.Q. rights.
The choice of which flags keep or go is solely as much as the mayor, and a brand new directive might be coming quickly. Charles Kretchmer Lutvak, a spokesman for Mr. Lurie, stated the administration put the gathering again in place as a matter after all after the ornamental inauguration ones got here down.
But when requested why some controversial banners remained up, he stated the mayor would overview them.
“The symbols we show ought to replicate the most effective of our communities and our metropolis,” he stated.
