When a girl wears dreadlocks...

[ninjadanslarbretabar]

hey lacey
guess wah, i was thinking about ending my long hair reign with dreads before cutting them
i know you already are not a big fan of long hair on guys for the most part
but if you care to comment what would be your feeling about it ? (on me)

as for your boss she seem like a dumb fuck from that judgment
im a big Reggae fan but dreads aren't exclusive to the Rastafarian culture
dont wash your hair : and you end up with dread, as simple as that !!
and guess what, not washing or cutting your hair was invented way before Christmas,, hehe, i meant Jah and the rasta culture

i went to wiki for that but :

The first known examples of locks date back to ancient dynastic Egypt

ive seen enough world pic to know that it wasnt exclusive

many black americans who take offense to that

many people who dont know shit will take offense in whatever they feel like taking offense from to justify their own hate agenda...

The very earliest Christians also may have worn this hairstyle.

haha, i didnt knew that tho

personally (through pics ) ive seen it alot on hindus, the yogi types who seems to be on hashish 24-7
but i mostly associate it with a vibe (not giving a shit, and letting things flow) and of coarse Reggae
but still, i like the vibe, i just hope i wont look like a Marley wanna be, specially with the guitar and the Reggae picking...
but that will be realted to the vibe im giving, will ill acted or will ill be real,
that a religion, being real

Also, im sure that yall dont give a flyin shit, but

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadlocks

 

[Obyron]

Dreadlocks predate Rastafarianism by like 4000 years. Haile Selassie wasn't even born until 1892.

It's a fucking hairstyle. If you like it, wear it. If you don't like it, don't wear it. It's not wrong for people to wear dreads just because they don't believe that some dead Ethiopian King is God.

 

[felix]

^ amen.

lacey - you'll be telling us white skinheads are offended by black people that shave their head next.

some people like to get offended by anything they *choose* to get offended by. 8)

 

[spork]

I don't think too many people (male and female) that sport dreadlocks actually look good with them, but it seems to look awesome on the ones that can pull it off. I feel the same way about a lot of facial piercings. It really doesn't matter though, as long as the person who has them is comfortable and happy with the way they look.

 

[Khadijah]

^ amen.

lacey - you'll be telling us white skinheads are offended by black people that shave their head next.

No, I m telling you what many of my friends and people I known have said about it. Its a fact that what I said is true for the people who believe it. You aint gotta agree, but if you dont think that in america dreads are deeply related to race in some peoples opinions then I dont know what to tell you. some people wont care, but some will. i was just lettin it be known. Also, that skinhead analogy dont work, a shaved head aint got no long history behind it as far as white supremacy goes except in the end half of the past century while dreads are a longer tradition with more time for it to develop strong ties to a particular culture.

This reminds me of that buddhist mantra tattoo thread from the guy who wasnt even a buddhist. IMO, that just aint what you do. Iunno why Im comin under all the fire for just puttin my ideas into it, that is all that yall are doin so whys it different just cuz I dont agree? I think that shit be lookin mad silly on white folks like I said. Shit I dont even like Lil waynes dreads. Ima repeat it again...i think dreads look shitty on most people, but if its a religious thing then I dont care since it aint based on the looks so i dont pass a judgement on it either way. Like i wouldnt say someone looks stupid for wearin a bulletproof vest, cuz they aint wearin it for looks, its for a function, so the same logic goes wit dreads for me. If you are doin it for the look i think it looks like crap 90% of the time. Some peeps can pull it off so the ones who can, good for them, but thas jus how i see it.


ninja, i hear what youre sayin, but Im sorry yo, Im sure a jewish person would be slightly took by suprise if they seen people just up and start wearin yamakas for no reason and wit no religious significance, and it would not be a racist hate filled agenda for them to be offended or disturbed by that. it would be understandable if they thought that shit was wack. Whether or not other non jewish people also put lil coaster sized fabric pieces over their bald spots , that is irrelevant, it is still a jewish thing. Sayin otherwise is splittin hairs. dreads mighta been other shit in the past but to me , if you want to deny that shit got strong links to rasta culture then you just wanna be contradictin things. It mighta been different shit in the past but now, thats what alot of it is related to.

Im tryna imagine how youd look with dreads but all I can get is Tom Green and that aint right!!! I think your hair that you got now suits you pretty good actually. I guess dreads would fit in with your whole thing tho, better than it would go with the wack ass college preppy kids who just discovered acid at least. Do whatever you feel . Thas what I been sayin all along, but peeps are misinterpretin my warnings, as tryna tell them what to do or w/ever, and it aint like that.

I think peeps got my post twisted anyways, I said I dont like how they look and dont take it serious when I see someone with dreads, and that alot of people I know do see dreads that aint got no significance to the wearer, as a wack thing.

But what I aint sayin is you can or cant do somethin, look at my second post, who gives a shit what I say? Thas jus my feelings on it tho, so its fucked up of yall to act like its ridiculous, becuz these are things that are true (as far as the reactions from some other people) and to dismiss them would be willfully bein ignorant. Everybody feels different about it like i said. Mad people wouldnt care or would think its cool. but some wouldnt be cool wit it. whether or not you care about that, is up to you. but i jus wanted to give the heads up to the people who werent aware that some people could see "recreational dread users" ( lol )as tryna steal a piece of their culture. Whether or not thats bullshit, is irrelevant, cuz my whole point was just to mention that, not say whether its right or wrong, or whether I agree wit them or not. You feel me?

 

[felix]

^ i'm feeling ya

thanks for the explanation.

 

[JerryBlunted]

as someone who went to a fairly expensive private college full of trustafarians sporting dreads and shirking personal hygiene i have negative associations with the hairstyle, for the most part.

on the other hand, i was outside yankee stadium in the bronx about two summers ago and went to get a drink at a little pub near there. i saw the MOST BEAUTIFUL woman i have ever seen in my life there and she had some relatively short dreads. (she was black, but i dont think she was jamaican... i mainly base that thought on the fact that i could understand 100% of what she said).

if dreadlocks are something you really like and you want to grow them, it is a free country. i say go for the gusto! but, as lacey pointed out, i think a lot of black people will see it as a form of infringement, and a lot of white people such as myself will at first glance associate you with some upper class wannabe hippy burnout college kid. if that is not what you are, then your real personality will come through and good people will move past their initial preconceptions and get to know you.

anyways, i hope you don't take my personal associations w/ people wearing dreadlocks as a knock against you as an individual, because that is not the case, just sharing my two cents.

 

[glitterbizkit]

It prolly means she dont know much about the history behind em . GB I think your dreads are nice. But they are a religious symbol and they DO have a deeper meaning to them. for a non believer to wear dreads its considered very bad luck. they symbolize a deeper relationship with Jah and aint for just anybody to wear in the rasta culture.

Dreadlocks are associated with Rastafarianism because that is the religion/culture that made them popular, but Rastafarians were actually copying the Mau Mau, freedom fighters in Africa in the 50s... Apart from that, Vikings had dreadlocks, Hindus have/had dreadlocks, Celts, Native Americans, Ancient Egyptians, and many more cultures I'm sure. So dreadlocks aren't a religious symbol at all. It's simply a hairstyle, and with all due respect Lacey - I usually agree with your posts 100% and enjoy reading them a lot, but this is the kind of elitist attutide that I was talking about. Many think that Rastas have some kind of superior claim on dreadlocks, but that's just bullshit. Same with how some people say white people shouldn't have dreadlocks. What about the Vikings and the Celts? If we're going after historical facts then that should mean that white people have more of a right to wear dreadlocks than black Rastafarians since they 'did it first' (although I'm sure that people in Africa were sporting dreadlocks at about the same time as the Celts, but still.. you get the point).

aint for just anybody to wear in the rasta culture

Exactly. In the rasta culture, dreadlocks may not be for just anybody. But dreadlocks aren't exclusive to the Rasta culture.

edit: just re-read your third post and I get that you don't have that elitist attitude about it and were just trying to convey what other people might feel about it, cool. Everything else I said still stands though.

 

[paradoxcycle]

You may know this already, how dreads are specifically Jamaican and are, in origin, inseparable from Rastafari culture and faith - Ras Tafari being a name of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I. Selassie also held the title “Lion of Judah” - thus, as I understand it, to wear dreads is to identify with, and in a sense be, a lion.

One could argue that anyone not Rastafari who sports dreadlocks is committing an act of cultural appropriation. Especially when worn as a aggressive “mainstream political” statement - for instance, the more radical groups of New Zealand Maori who adopted dreads, but not Rastafari, during my stay there in the 80s. (Incidentally, there were many “whites” in New Zealand who identified themselves as Maori and wore dreads, if their hair could be so treated without it looking more stupid than leonine.) Bob Marley the Conciliator (or at least so his modern deifiers would claim) would have likely spoken against such a use of dreads.

His comment to a white person with dreads likely would not have reflected a sense of being offended, but, rather, the thought “That is not I”, meaning that it’s not an accurate reflection of the white person’s sacred individuality. (Rastas use “I” where more conventional English uses “you”.)

There’s a lot to be said for this. To wear, carry or act out something in ignorance of your own heritage, or in flattery or emulation of another’s, is to diminish your own self, your own history. Wouldn’t it be far better if we could each embrace our own histories, fix the problems they have, and move forward?

 

[glitterbizkit]

^^^ What??? Did you read my post at all???

You may know this already, how dreads are specifically Jamaican and are, in origin, inseparable from Rastafari culture and faith

Blatantly untrue. As I said, Rastas copied dreadlocks from the Mau Mau, and dreadlocks themselves are as old as, or probably older than Ancient Egypt.

One could argue that anyone not Rastafari who sports dreadlocks is committing an act of cultural appropriation.

No, no, no, no no. If you don't believe me, Wiki it.

Sorry, don't mean to go off on you, but this is something I take personally. I have dreadlocks, and it pisses me off when people think that a certain subculture are the only ones that have a 'right' to wear dreads, when in fact dreads have been around for ages, all over the world, worn by white, black, native american, etc.

There’s a lot to be said for this. To wear, carry or act out something in ignorance of your own heritage, or in flattery or emulation of another’s, is to diminish your own self, your own history.

If I wanted to assert my cultural right to wear dreadlocks, I could say it's my heritage from the two different cultures I descend from - the Vikings (I'm half Swedish) and the African (and half Zambian). But I don't really feel the need to justify what I feel is only a hairstyle.

Also, on a slightly different note, it gets to me when people assume I'm rasta because of my hair. I get so many people calling out to me on the streets "hey rasta!" when I walk by. I mean, it doesn't piss me off or anything, I just feel the need to educate them a bit on the history of dreadlocks. But thankfully I don't do it, as that would be a bit silly of me :D edit: although it would be funny to tell them that I'm wearing dreads to honour my Viking ancestors because a) many people have no idea the Vikings had dreads and b) I don't look Scandinavian at all Might do that next time!!!

 

[Edvard Munch]

It means she is allies with the Predator.

 

[Obyron]

^^ That is the absolute last word on this thread. TRUTH.

 

[AntonioMontana]

If you have nothing useful to add to the discussion, please don't. Thank you. ~spork

 

[paradoxcycle]

But I don't really feel the need to justify what I feel is only a hairstyle.

...I get so many people calling out to me on the streets "hey rasta!" when I walk by. I mean, it doesn't piss me off or anything, I just feel the need to educate them a bit on the history of dreadlocks.

???

 

[glitterbizkit]

Why are you only responding to that part of my post?

Anyway the two parts that you quoted tie in with each other. It's just a hairstyle for me as I said, and I don't wish to be stereotyped because of it. People calling me a rasta because I have dreads ties in with the fact that most people think that Rastafarians have a superior claim on dreadlocks.

 

[paradoxcycle]

Because I think you overreacted and were rude, and I have no interest in arguing with you.

 

[glitterbizkit]

I'm sorry if I was rude, as I said, it's a touchy subject for me. I think that's understandable, wouldn't you feel the same if people were constantly saying that you don't have as much of a right to look a certain way as other people of a certain religious group do, when their argument is based on misconceptions and not facts?

As for overreacting, I guess I was a bit surprised that you made your first post directly after mine as if you either hadn't read it at all (which to be fair, maybe you hadn't) or that you had read it and just chose to blatantly ignore the facts that I wrote in the post.

 

[syymphonatic]

I don't feel like you were overreacting or rude.


I think that, much like many things in the world, dreadlocks can either mean something or not.

in ancient egypt, beetles were a symbol a symbol of royalty and power. in ohio, they're just an insect.

of course people are going to judge based on what they know, understand, and associate with. that doesn't make it fair or right, but it'll happen. dreadlocks have been just a hairstyle and more in many cultures, not just rastas.
that would be like saying long hair is only for metalheads in the early 80s and that's BS.

 

[swilow]

Cavemen actually started it, every caveman picture I see, the guys have dreadies. I am descended from a caveman so I feel it is culturely valid for me to have the single dreadlock I do. Its dangling from the back of my head...

 

[randycaver]

it's ok glitterbizkit, you weren't overreacting and you weren't rude.

i thought you explained yourself quite well and i learned something from your posts.