No Horses Allowed At Night

I haven't discussed Cajun country too much with you. The Cajun area of the U.S is just about 90 kilometers from New Orleans and consists of SW Louisiana. Though is has been immersed into the U.S. culture since W.W. II it is still largely a French speaking, part of the U.S. with a distinct culture all of it's own. Fortunately, Hurricane Katrina did not wipe out much of that part of my state, though some Cajun towns were badly flooded and have not rebuilt.
Going to some of the little towns there is like a flashback in time along the bayous were Cajuns tend to live. The food ,m music, language life style is all more reminiscent of the early 20th century than of today. And what did I read about in my newspaper from little St. Martinville (located in the heart of Cajun Louisiana) this morning but that "night horse riding" has been banned in St. Matinville.
Yep! They still ride horses a lot there, and my paper reported that there have been quite a few "horse accidents" recently in St. Martinville, no doubt because the Cajuns drink too much. The new law says that anyone in St. Martinville caught riding a horse at night on a public road will be fined $250 and could be sentenced to up to 30 days in jail as well.
But in Cajun style, one in which fun comes first and everything else a distant second, the law excludes the ban for the endless number of parades, hairdos and other social events in Acadian (Cajun) parishes. I have seen film some of the drunken horseback groups on Mardi Gras Day and can attest that the horses have more sense than the riders who drunkenly gallop about on horses that raid farms on Marred Gras morning for live chickens and other goodies to be used in a big community Cajun Jambalaya/Gumbo feast that is held Mardi Gras night. Every year many riders end up in hospitals after falling from their horses.
Most of the Cajuns don't like the new law about night riding, but accept it. They understand that because "horses don't have lights" it is dangerous to ride a horse on public streets these days. Well, it' just a trivial slice of life from my state, but I like the idea that people are still concerned about such small things and probably don't have any idea about terrorism, global warming or any other thing that matters more to the rest of us.
Speaking of cultural variations.... In another one, a French court ruled Tuesday that an organization with far-right links can continue offering pork soup to the homeless, rejecting police complaints that the food distribution was racist. Yep...."racist" some d said because the free soup wasn't the kind that some religions will eat....More politically correct nonsense.
Police banned the soup kitchen last month, arguing that the handouts discriminated against Jews and Muslims who do not eat pork on religious grounds. The administrative court said the distribution was "clearly discriminatory," but could not be stopped because the organizers offered to feed anyone who asked for help.
The mayor of Paris condemned the ruling and urged the police to appeal the ruling. "Faced by this initiative which stinks of xenophobia, I want once again to express city hall's desire to fight all forms of discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism," mayor Bertrand Delanoe said in a statement.
The food handouts are organized by a nationalist group called Solidarity of the French (SDF). It says its "pig soup," which uses pork fat for stock, is country fare much loved by French traditionalists. "No-one has ever been able to prove that anyone has been refused soup or clothes on the grounds of their religion or race," SDF lawyer Frederic Pichon told France Info radio after Tuesday's court decision.
So, can a charity be denied from giving out free meals if the food isn't liked by everyone? Sigh..How stupid is the contention that everyone or no one must be served by a non profit charity group?