Martin Marprelate
Womb Doom
Open Source since 1588
In the Beginning:
New Orleans
New Orleans isn’t like any other place.
We were rolled through history – our land impressed by the Indian, Spanish, French, English, American…
We were weaned on pirates, adopting the fluidity of the Spanish, and the civilization of the French; the brutality of the English, and the wildness of the American.
We are Creole. A tangle of cultures and tongues.
There is no place like us anywhere in the world.
But we Creole do not fully belong anywhere else either.
We speak English, French and Spanish. If we are of old families – of any origin or color – we are Creoles.
A common law country using Latin civil law.
Governed better by pirates than bureaucrats.
Our rules are our rules.
That’s what Creoles understand. It doesn’t matter what the rest of the world does. We are New Orleans and our rules are our rules.
We all abide by them.
Thus: New Orleans is the best place in the world to be a criminal.
Because: There are only two rules for doing business in New Orleans.
First, that the wealth is shared generously with all of those who make the business possible.
And, second, that the generosity is directly proportional to the severity of the crime.
It is not what is done, but who is doing it.
It is not how it is done, but who is judging it.
It is not what is done, but who benefits from it.
It is not who you are, but who you threaten.
Only one law is never broken.
The ban against miscegenation.
We call it: Womb Doom.
No indulgences allowed.
Part of the Martin Marprelate Returns collection