For this year's Holiday Winter bash, I had earned the Warm Welcome hat. It was a traditional-looking Russian style hat, with a red and yellow star on its front. I liked it because it referenced the Soviet Union, which I unshamefully admit to have taken a liking to. But This morning, I came to check my inbox and noticed something different. The Star was replaced with a heart. I was confused and wanted to ask why my favourite hat has been changed.
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1$\begingroup$ I have no clue. We moderators have no saying in the hat thing... $\endgroup$– L.Dutch ModDec 18, 2019 at 14:48
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$\begingroup$ You can always, make your own, of course. $\endgroup$– SurpriseDogDec 23, 2019 at 4:46
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1 Answer
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The "Warm Welcome" hat was changed as per this discussion on the main SE Meta. Essentially, it was changed because it referenced the Soviet Union - users from former Soviet nations objected to the use of a symbol that, to them, represented an oppressive, totalitarian regime. While not everyone agreed it was offensive, enough people did agree that the SE staff decided to change the design.
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4$\begingroup$ OK, that makes sense. It did seem odd to me that it was the USSR logo. Not exactly offensive but "warm" and "USSR" aren't exactly linked in my mind. Especially when you add in "welcome" to the phrase. At best, I can picture the infamously cold, cold, cold Russian winters. At worse, I picture Siberia - the notoriously cold place where people were also notoriously exiled to. It's literally the opposite of "warm" and "welcoming" in both the literal and figurative sense of each word. A simple ushanka-hat with no logo would have been enough convey a warmer more welcoming image. $\endgroup$– VLAZDec 18, 2019 at 15:38