Story

Description

Chef is pissed about South Park's flag - which prominently features several white stick figures "lynching" a black-looking stick figure - and starts a movement to have it changed. South Park Elementary stages a debate on the issue, with Stan and Kyle on the "keep the flag" team and Wendy and Cartman on the "change the flag" side. Chef is crushed that the boys would take up for the existing flag.

As controversy mounts, the debate is turned into a public referendum on how to handle the issue. While conducting research for her team, Wendy finds herself strangely attracted to Cartman (who joined her just to make her mad). She shares this with a horrified Bebe, who tells her she must do the unthinkable -- kiss Cartman to break the sexual tension. This she does, in front of the entire town, during the flag debate.

When the pro-flag team gives its presentation, Chef suddenly realizes that Stan, Kyle, and their friends don't grasp the fact that the people on the flag are different colors, they see them as all the same.

Shortly after, a new South Park flag is unveiled. It's still several stick figures hanging another stick figure, but now their makeup is multiracial and they're all holding hands. Wendy tells Cartman she's relieved that the sexual tension between them is resolved, and that she now feels nothing for him. Cartman at first laughs it off, then walks away dejectedly.

Memorable Quotes

• "I'm sorry, Chef. Mr. Hat is a racist bastard." Mr. Garrison
• "All animals kill, and the animals that don't kill are stupid ones like cows and turtles and stuff." Kyle
• "Hot shower! Hot shower! Hot shower!" Ku Klux Klan
• "This whole cracker-ass town can kiss my ass!" Chef
• "Woaaa, calm down, ho." Cartman
• "I never thought I'd have anything in common with you, Cartman." Wendy Testaburger
• "Last week we decided that we hate blacks and Jews. A LOT." Ku Klux Klan
• "I'm attracted to Cartman." Wendy Testaburger
• "Mr. Garrison! YOU'RE a KLAN member?!"- Sheila Broflovsky

Characters

Stan Marsh

Kyle Broflovski

Eric Cartman

Kenny McCormick

Craig Tucker

Jerome "Chef" McElroy

Wendy Testaburger

Bebe Stevens

Butters Stotch

Herbert Garrison

Mayor McDaniels

Jimbo Kern

Ned Gerblansky

Randy Marsh

Mr. Mackey

Mr. Wyland

Gerald Broflovski

Sheila Broflovski

Officer Barbrady

Body Count

Kenny, who meets a truly spectacular end, even by South Park standards. After ingesting a pile of antacid tablets (which he mistakes for mints) he drinks a glass of water and explodes. In fact, it's so good, the boys don't even say their famous "You killed Kenny" line, they all just laugh.

Also a Buddhist monk, whom Chef sets on fire as part of his flag protest. During Jimbo and Ned's heart-to-heart with the kids, they gun down a squirrel and a bird (and almost Chris Peterson).

Buddhist Monk

Locations

City Hall

South Park Elementary

Testaburger Residence

Behind The Scenes

The episode was thrown together in an even bigger hurry than usual, because the staff wanted to get out of the office for the Fourth of July weekend.

Where Did The Idea Come From

It was based on a big controversy over whether the state of South Carolina should change its flag, which looks uncomfortably like the old Confederate flag.

Pop Culture References

Shout Outs

Chef briefly converts to Islam and changes his name to Abdul Mohammed Jabar Rauf Kareem Ali.

While protesting before the Mayor, Chef holds up an actual photo of a monk setting himself on fire - this is the famous, Pulitzer Prize-winning picture of a Buddhist monk performing "self-immolation", or suicide by fire. Part of this picture was used in Rage Against the Machine's self-titled debut album.

Wendy has a poster of Russell Crowe in her bathroom. His head briefly morphs into Cartman's head, which causes her to scream in horror.

When the Klan members dance and play "Who's Got The Silliest Thing On Under Their Robe", an upbeat version of "If You're Happy and You Know It" plays on the organ.

What Chef Learned: "All this time I thought those little crackers had turned racist, when actually they were so not racist that they didn't even make a separation of black and white to begin with. All they saw when they looked at that flag was five people."

Bonus Factoids

Pointless Observations

There's a drawing of Cartman's pig, Fluffy, and Stan's dog, Sparky, on the back wall in Mr. Garrison's classroom.

There have been three class debates prior to this one "Pro-Choice vs. Cartman", "Pro-Gun Control vs. Cartman", and "People Against the Clubbing of Baby Seals vs. Cartman". Cartman has won them all.

Mr. Hat is in the Ku Klux Klan. Although Garrison shuns Mr. Hat's racism here, Garrison himself will lead a cloaked charge against Richers in "Here Comes the Neighborhood". Mr. Hat is Mr. Garrison's gay (before he accepted himself) and racist side expressed through puppetry. Mr. Garrison himself has, on many occasions, been portrayed as being racist to all other people. (Examples: Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics, It's Christmas in Canada, Where my Country gone?)

DoubleStuff cookies are both Wendy and Cartman's favorite treats.

In Wendy's "nightmare", Cartman is shirtless, riding a white stallion; then the two of them roll around lustfully in a green meadow. It's not quite the same picture in "Breast Cancer Show Ever", where Wendy kicks the shit out of him. Their feelings for each other have changed drastically over the seasons.

During the scene of Jimbo and Ned visiting the KKK rally, a Visitor is hidden right of Jimbo behind a tree.

Season 4

e1 Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000

e2 The Tooth Fairy's Tats 2000

e3 Quintuplets 2000

e4 Timmy 2000

e5 Pip

e6 Cartman Joins NAMBLA

e7 Cherokee Hair Tampons

e8 Chef Goes Nanners

e9 Something You Can Do With Your Finger

e10 Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?

e11 Probably

e12 Fourth Grade

e13 Trapper Keeper

e14 Helen Keller! The Musical

e15 Fat Camp

e16 The Wacky Molestation Adventure

e17 A Very Crappy Christmas