The Master Chief’s Cajun Corner:
Who Dat Nation
Ed. Note:Yesterday’s Arrias piece dealt with the real threat of rising totalitarianism, as political opponents are “bothered” and scapegoats must be found.
It produced a lot of correspondence, since I think a lot of people are concerned, and not just at Refuge Farm in lovely Culpeper, where there was a tantalising hint of Spring in the air.
Retired Master Chief “Boats” had one of the responses that offered a slightly contrarian view. I always enjoy his stories of life in the Hooligan Navy and his roots in the rich traditions of New Orleans. Here is his take on a unique approach to how an originally French city evolved without splintering….:
“This Arrias piece caused me to look again at our “Who Dat Nation” as I did in the wake of Mardi Grias. Your description of tribalism was most helpful. Down here we seem to have evolved a tribe of tribes. Our tribe of tribes is not a federation or a result of negotiations, it just evolved.
We still have whole and intact tribes of Cajuns, Creoles, Hispanics, and multiple tribes of varying amounts of African background including French speaking groups. I mentioned that here St. Joseph and St. Patrick day are jointly celebrated with a joint parade. The Irish Americans ride floats and throw cabbages and potatoes . Italian Americans “march” ( from the official language of the parade permit but its more like dance / stroll ) along side dressed in Tux and carrying big displays of roses given to women in the crowd in exchange for a kiss. Young good looking women and grandmas seem to amass the largest collection of Roses.
What is so strange about this annual procession, along with the large number of Irish / Italian marriages is the fact that about 100 years ago the Irish here were responsible for a mass lynching of Italians. The police chief of New Orleans back then was an Irish American named Hennessy.
He had been murdered, and the police took into custody a group of Italian immigrants associated with unions in the port, which were in conflict with Irish American labor groups.
A large mob of Irish Americans and Irish immigrants broke into the jail and dragged out the Italian prisoners and lynched them. It became quite an international incident and the United States had to apologize to Italy.
Yet less than 50 years later Irish / Italian and Italian / Irish marriages were common and the two groups celebrate their patron saints together in a unique street party.
What happened? Probably a combination of a common Catholic clergy reminding everyone that “catholic” means “universal” and that means “welcome everyone.” The other force at work was the uncommon physical attractiveness of both groups. An important influence was the example of the various French groups both White and (more or less) Black in their readiness towards intermarriage and more temporary arrangements.
New Orleans and the nearby Bayou country has been settled now by non native groups for more that three hundred years. Our municipal and parish governments are older than the U. S. Constitution.
We never tried to form a ” melting pot” out of all of the converging tribes. We ended up with a chunky and savory gumbo, not a smooth blended soup with everything forcefully melted into a soup.
What happened to the pre Colombian people’s? They are here. They married in. Their tribal governments and unique identities diminished down to a few bands like the Houmas who still battle the Federal Government for recognition. The Feds for the most part insist that they are simply Cajuns, but their neighbors back their claim that while they all went to the same church; the remaining bands stayed on their original lands, hunted and fished in certain commons with their neighbors, but managed their own affairs.
The bands didn’t demand parish services and have never asked for welfare. But the American Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs just can’t seem to adapt to the idea of tribes living peacefully as neighbors.
Over time the gumbo pot evolved a common sort of liquid component, thick and soup like but retains all of the original chunks. By the later part of the middle of the 20th century a certain level of a unique common culture bound our still unique and mostly intact tribes into a community for which we had no name.
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Then in the 1970s a unique common element of the larger American over-culture appeared ….an NFL franchise that we dubbed the SAINTS. All of our tribes have unique patron saints and the central city has two, Joan of Arc as Anglos call her and St. Louis King of France. You said that tribes tend to need common enemies but we kept sleeping with the candidates for that title.
But the arrival of the Saints gave us the Falcons or “Dirty Birds” as they are dubbed by the hard partying over culture and unifying sauce that has become the “Who Dat Nation” ( as in our communal battle cry “who Dat say they gonna beat dem Saints).
What a great way for our tribe of tribes to experience the unifying effects of common enemies. We dress up in costumes or body paint in the stands and watch our “warriors” battle the enemies while consuming great quantities of alcohol and dreaming up witty encouragements to scream out.
Then, after the game ends, tens of thousands of us (mostly Who Dats, and only some tourists) head to the French Quarter to continue the revelry.
So from converging tribes with natural distrust and suspicions, a gumbo of a sort of common religion arose, and an over culture evolved, peace and parties broke out. Then a warrior class arrived called of all things “Saints” and the Who Dat Nation appeared in history over 300 years in the slow cooking crock pot.
America yawned, but like the American cowboy, the world’s first mounted and armed workman vice warrior, the Who Dat Nation is uniquely American and offers unique lessons to the astute observer:
1. Yes we are frequently a drunk and often near naked ( its a hot climate) throng in a street party.
2. None the less we make it to work with some frequency and work hard when actually there.
3. No matter how hard we party we always show up for church on Sunday. Catholics confess their sins and receive absolution from a priest and those who are protesting instead of professing hear words of assurance of the mercy of God from their pastors. ( There are a lot of conversions to Catholicism here. Absolution seems so much more powerful than words of assurance when you know full well that you will be partying hardy soon and a do over is always available in the penalty box of the confessional).
3. As noted in my last missive drunk naked people don’t start wars and are rarely able to sustain hostilities.
3. Our tribe of tribes has so far met every incoming group with curiosity, asking not their intent but what they liked to cook, what kind of music and dance they liked, with two exceptions both armed and their intentions obvious. The first was the British Army in 1814. We slaughtered thousands on the Plains of Chalmette and sent their general back to them dead and preserved in a barrel of rum, delivered by involuntarily sober and sullen British sailors. Then we shot up the Union Army of Occupation until their behavior improved. Periodically drunken naked people don’t start wars or long sustain hostilities, but they can be fierce at throwing kill joys out of the party.
4. What we see from here concerning the liberal progressives is that clearly they are on the road to tyranny. The first sign is their loss of a sense of humor. A number of reformed 6os radicals warn that this is the first sign of radical insanity. Have you noticed how late night so called comedians only spew out anti Trump satire? They just aren’t funny any more.
It’s this loss of humor that precedes the sense of self right and eventually superiority that allows them to self justify genocide. We see the Democrats are there. To them, we say “don’t bring your crap here.”
Before we will accept a socialist tyranny we will repel you by force of arms. Our sudden sobriety and determined resistance will amaze you. To the Republicans we say please don’t lose your sense of humor in the face of the humorless democrats turned demonrats. Watch especially your sense of whimsy it’s often the first part of humor to go when you are sad.
5. The lesson of the Who Dat Nation is stay calm, be nice, party hardy and let things evolve instead of all the force fitting going on. In another 50 years the nation might evolve into a nice gumbo instead of dissolving into a boiling over heated melting pot or disappearing.
America, this may sound crazy to you now However, following the example of a loose collection of tribes of Church going kinda sorta more or less Christian periodically drunk naked people could do our weary nation a lot of good.
Don’t take yourselves so damn seriously. We’d like to provide more insight but we’re busy as a community preparing for Easter and Jazz Fest. Please lighten up, we’ll check back on you around May.
Sincerely
“Boats”
Copyright 2019 Jonas Presbetye
www.vicsocotra.com