CREOLE CULTURAL NEWS FLASH: In Pride Without Prejudice Toward Any, I Refute Ignorance & Arrogance by John laFleur II, 2014 Recently, I met up with a very sincerely nice lady in Opelousas, a pretty lady. She said to me in recognition of my person; Oh, yes, the Creole man! I didnt think anything more about it and proceeded to enjoy a brief but, very pleasant chat regarding our shared Louisiana creole heritage and culture. She had attended and fondly remembered me from the Creole Families Bastille Memorial Mass & Festival held in Ville Platte on July 12. She was proud of my efforts at unapologetically forcing forward the issue of our true cultural and historical creole heritage over the four decade-long, Lafayette-imposed, but, pseudo-Cajun identity so many have so mindlessly adopted, while ignoring all of Louisianas long multi-ethnic and pre-Cajun history. I again heard someone refer to me in reference to creole but, this time it was an echo of what one foolish old woman had uttered from Ville Platte, to say nothing of a few very prejudiced old and not-so-older men, from this same area whose cajunite is certfied from racial fears, although acknowledging their own parents considered themselves creoles! She had said, regarding our highly publicized and my frequently-published comments and writings: Oh, its time to stop that; thats too much! -no names to be mentioned. Ironically, it was from this woman, a direct descendant of the Saint-Domingue creole Morein family and also of German creole origins on her maternal line that such a negative comment issued. She was one of the first to approach me at the start of re-awakening the public to our diverse and long suppressed creole heritage. So, as I see it, we are rebuked for the pride we have in resurrecting the TRUTH about ourselves, and in a pretended concern for not offending the false pride created in a false cajun cultural identity among many and its corollary of money-making schemes associated with this false Acadian-based culture, we are asked to in effect, shut up -and by some who previously were among those who encouraged us to speak up! Yes, it seems that cowardice now has them singing a different song. Oh, how sinful the human heart! How self-serving, as it is dishonest and foolish! The fact that LIES and DECEPTION, RACISM and GREED motivate the new but, false Cajun pride doesnt seem to matter. Is it ignorance, or is this arrogance? Or, maybe its prejudice -from an unforeseen but, PREDICTABLE angle? My personal pride of who I am as both a multi-ethnic Louisiana creole with at least, 1/4 Acadian ancestry, coupled with my love an respect for truth, people and God, motivate my passion for the truth. I have not excluded, nor criticized the honest good people, French creoles or Acadians, who were never part of this cultural deceit of the past forty years of so. I have and will continue to criticize the lies, deceit and mislabeling from CODOFIL, the University of Lafayettes myth-pushing buffons who have deliberately deceived generations of creoles and others into disowning truth; our shared multi-ethnic culture and history and pitting us against each other as cajuns or creoles. I have and will continue to proudly credit the true multi-ethnic creole creators-Indians, French, Africans, Germanic and Spanish peoples-for the creation of Louisianas pre-Acadian and contemporary so-called Cajun culture-the long known, but forgotten country creole culture-for Louisianas cultural history while ever encouraging interracial, intercultural unity among our multi-racial members while revealing a magnificent and colorful history far more interesting than any manufactured and concocted myth created by disingenuous and ignorant politicians and myth-makers-from Edwin Edwards to Dudley HADACOL LeBlanc to the cajunists of University of Lafayettte. Do I even need to address how Christian ethics and faith tie into the acceptance and acknowledgement of these truths? Those to be faulted and appropriately criticized are University of Lafayettes Louisiana Studies (read Cajun Studies), academic myth-makers- deliberate promoters of this ignorance-perpetuated in CODOFILs black or white, Creole or Cajun racial-cultural caricature which sustains the great Anglo-American racial-political divide born of Jim Crow era-thinking, and which organizations leadership continues to falsely give Acadian-Canada credit for a culture still foreign to Acadian Canada-to this day. And, notwithstanding the generous acknowledgements (but, forced accommodations), for Creoles (meaning only blacks as touted in Lafayette), as seen in the Festival Acadiens et Creoles and Vermilionvilles Creole Day the ugly political and economic social framework/paradigm which seeks to disenfranchise people of color from their own culture by racially marginalizing them and thereby, absolutely preventing them/us from reaping its full rewards. But, this racializing has also robbed white creoles too, of both their pride and of their unique cultural distinction and historical significance; having been robbed of their cultural and historical primacy while false credit is given to the cajun or Acadian-based culture which doesnt exist in Louisiana. And, I shall continue, along with many other educated, ethnically diverse and PROUD Louisiana creoles of every variety to tell the truth-regardless of the ugly disapproving heads of IGNORANCE and ARROGANCE who know no shame or honor in the truth of Louisianas long pre-Acadian and contemporary creole culture, history, and people. Lets not even mention-God! And, these shameless myth-makers also refuse to acknowledge their own humble Acadian people who assimilated their/our unique Louisiana-based creole cultural identity, before Lafayettes political and racist activists split the baby of our shared creole culture into black and white halves after 1968, and have ever since fought to force the previously white-exclusive artificial cajun (misspelled form of the offensive cadjin), on all and only white francophones, while limiting Creole to only black francophones. This deceit in suppressing these facts, and in falsely promoting cajun culture as an Acadian-based culture has now been exposed internationally, and will continue to grow as I am privileged to share my finds and living experience with international students working on doctoral dissertations and masters theses to consider the facts which they have not been told. For liars and persons who have no values other than the materialistic rewards of this life, their arrogance continues to reinforce the ignorance theyve promoted among the masses. But, the shared pride of honest and diverse creoles has already made its appearance with prejudice toward none. Among us have been honest and well-educated priests who acknowledge these same truths we hold dear. Shall we apologize for the ignorance of others who dont know how deeply theyve been misled into believing folklore and lies? Shall we apologize in refuting the half-truths, mass-marketed lies and false claims in disregard of history, conscience and the human value of those whove been disenfranchised? These are questions which can only be answered individually by Louisiana creoles who are honest, intelligent and courageous men and women of integrity. As for me, I remain allied with the truth of what I know from my families-French Creole & Acadian-and buttressed by the wall of historical and linguistic truth. I am proud to be a Louisiana French-Choctaw & Acadian creole. And, in pride without prejudice toward any, I refute ignorance and arrogance. And, I will ever teach the facts which Ive been so fortunate to find in my search for the truth, and I hope that you will, too. SHARE, SHARE, SHARE this article for the benefit of all of our people who seek to understand our position and the issue before us.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 17:13:19 +0000
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