I live inpredominantly black neighborhood. I get "looks" often andsome people have even made remarks and jokes about "the white girl with dreads" It kind of botheredme at first, but after a while, I kinda just block them out. Ignorance, however, has always bothered me. Whether it be misinformation or ignorance, it does get old after a while. I am very proud of my nappy dreads and wouldn't change them for the world!!! 
Being a black person, I feel like we all need to just shut up and get along. SE i totally feel you on this post man.. People who are very closed minded think like that and it really bothers me.. Honestly when i see a white person with dreads, my first reaction is to stare then immediately feel the urge to go up and hug them. I love to see all kinds of people expressing what makes them happy. My problem lies withe the people who are not honest with themselves and are afraid to be "real" I say, if you wanna have dreads rock those puppies.. aint nothin like em.. embrace em.. 
i wanna hug you
and 99 times outta 100 u get that warm reception
its cvery rare u dont but when u dont they can be loud and ugly about it
Sometimes i get irrationally angry when people behave in such a way.. its not like the dreads of other people are hurting you or bothering you in any way. Its just hair, just like the hair on their heads. it wont bite.. Ugh i could go on for days about this and various things that annoy me, but I wont. Mom and Dad have always taught me and my siblings acceptance no matter what the circumstance and that is what I live by.. wouldn't have it any other way.. Also, *web hugs* since I'm not in hugging distance.
soaring eagle said:
i wanna hug you
and 99 times outta 100 u get that warm reception
its cvery rare u dont but when u dont they can be loud and ugly about it
Not to advocate any kind of hate me brothas, but soaring eagle I wouldjust liketoelaborateonsome of the historicalfacts of this thread. Rastafari rose in the 1930's before, during, and after the corronation of emperor Haile I Selassie (Marcus Garvey prophesized), in which, rastas grew they're hair long and refused to use combs or razors.. Rastas were given an international spotlight only after the growing popularity of Robert Nesta Marley and other reggae musicians. Remember I am not spreading hate, I am not a black nationalist, and I am by no means trying to give validity to any kind of slanted idea of history, so please keep an open mind while reading my post because I believe that anyone is free to express him/her self. Pride in ones race CAN be an invitation to superiority and I also think that one should not place so much historical significance in why one chooses to be dread andwe should, instead, focus on what brings us together as HUMAN BEINGS. But as for history, 1 - the Vikings and thepirates of the Carribeanonly wore theyreheads in dread because they were maurading barbarians whose only goal for theyre society was brutal expansion and the relentless seeking of wealth. 2 - Only the Jews who took a vow of the nazarite wore theyre hair "untouched," not all of those of theJewish faith wore theyre heads dread. 3 - The Greeks (it has been proven through history) stole much of theyre philosophy, medicine, scienceand social structure from the Egyptians, whose pharoahs, wore theyre head either in dread or wore dreaded head dresses. 4 - The Scots, similar to the Vikings, wore theyre heads dread because of the excrutiatingly long war campaigns they embarked on, which, kept them from home for very long periods of time. 5 - when speaking of peoples of African descent using straighteners and relaxers to fit into the eurocentric idea of beauty, one should also observe the cause and effect of hundreds of years of systematic culture destruction, devaluation, and debasement. It could be argued that Africans andAfrican-Americans are victims of coerced conditioning and that, even today, the contributions ofare discounted by a eurocentric society (e.g. the Egyptians being Caucasion, or even Arabic, when it has been proven that early hominid life most likely started in Ethiopia and moved northward), which is why one does not learn much about Africa in school and why suchfallaciesas "early African peoples were savages until the introduction to Christianity" exist. One could also argue thatthis thread itselfis a perpetuation of that discountenance because, before reggae music exploded in N. America, one did not dread for fashion, religious/philosophical devotion, or freedom of expression and that thereaching forthe former ideasisjust apathetic justification for culture approriation. In fact, that people wouldgothrough such extreme measures to create the hairstylewithout anydiscipline in patience(i.e. wax, crochet hooks, dread perms, back-combing, etc.),instantaneously, compliments therhetoric and doesinvaluable service to the argument (although I would not be a rhetorician for that argument)when it is commonly known that it is much easier forpeoplesof African descent to dread with no synthetic assistance.Thepoint is, who cares. If you want to dread, dread,and do it forwhateverreason you desire,as long as yourintentionsare for love.We will always be berated by people who dont understand, we will always be seen as differentin the eyes of the majority, but than again, the common man is a fool.Ignorance is bliss and it takes WORK to empathize,understand, and tolerate the trivial differences among us. ONeLOVe all and may Jah bless all of US!
I hate reading most comments on the internet (not here of course ) and especially youtube, they are just so mean and intentionally hurtful. I try not to read them, but it makes me sad that so many people are like this. I'm too sensitive I know, I take things to heart, this is what's kept me from growin dreads for 39 years, and I'm not going to wait any longer. I am not telling anyone, that will invite their negativity, I am just going to do it I'm glad there's a place with kind human beings where I can come to visit.
lisasimpson said:
Yea currently my youtube channel is taking some heat because I'm white and have dreadlocks. Their arguments are ignorant and their hatred is strong.
I didn't even bother trying to argue with them but maybe I will give them a link to this section of the forums.
YES IT IS RACIST TO HATE ON A PERSON WITH DREADLOCKS SIMPLY BECAUSE THEIR SKIN ISN'T DARK ENOUGH FOR YOU. ANYONE CAN BE A RACIST A-HOLE.
Just because Im white doesn't mean that I have to brush my hair 
Im just choosing to let my hair free to do what it naturally wants to do.
So swooning over this post! Thank you for sharing! I let myself give into that whole "I'm white, I should have soft, flowing, combed hair" idea once in a while and feel all sad about my dreads and wonder if I should give in. (I also live in a really small, conservative town, so that doesn't help, lol) Now all I have to do is remember this post! Again, thank you! Oh, and awesome research skills btw!
Ignorance is the place I find myself before learning. When I am met with hostility I am not offended I do not pick it up and return it. That is not why I wear a crown. I began bald after serving 4 years in the US. Army as a Fire Support Specialist. I objected to war and felt it was wrong but knew nothing from experience. I can tell you from experience that the military is am armed, segregated welfare institution where the poor do the wealthys dirty work , and lose limbs and life doing so. The conflict is once again internal. White people and dreads is an issue for people who have not yet learned their "My Story". If you are from the school of thought that Columbus discovered what we call the U.S ask yourself a simple question. can you arrive at any place populated and claim to have discovered it? Unfortunately this country believes it's lies. It was Tafari Makkonen's coronation in 1930 the fulfilled Marcus Garvey's prophecy of Christ's return that brought forth thousands of history depleted Black people to embrace Rastafarianism and since he is the God head Rastas are for all practical purposes Garvyites. The fashion that you speak of in the 60s and 70s is an extension of pop culture not the African Diaspora. the way in which you accuse "Blacks who straighten their hair( a very inaccurate generalization) reflects hostility which is not yours. You do not need I have 7 sister a few of them have highly stylelized hair-doo's. To imply that this is acting white is not the patience and tolerance of someone at peace. In my culture locks are the result not the impetus. We are careful and mindful because we represent the escaped their captors after watching their mothers, sisters, a the women of a great many village being raped and beaten. the ones who became pregnant gave birth aboard the massive slave ships only to swaddle and smother or put them overboard. The women knew that death was better than any life where they were going,thousands more jumped into the sea free. Jamaica was a port on this route and groups of slaves would break free, finding the jungle safe as well as the Arawak Indians who would later procreate with the Africans. the large bounties for runaway slaves brought trappers and hunters from all over until a group returned empty handed a visible terrified. The captian said the slaves had gone wild, there were hundreds with red eyes sharp teeth and their hair had a most dreadful appearance. A white man coined the term our experience caused the appearance, These ropes represent those babies thrown overboard, villages destroyed, identity destroyed, they are the whip that carved the flesh from African skin and the noose that created Billy Holiday's "strange fruit" Southern trees bear strange fruit. My locks represent castrations and lynchings. I have never had a problem with anyone wearing their hair locked. I know that they are a fashion statement. I just graduated from one of the best if not the best research universities and after 8 years people looked at me like I was covered in something putrid. I earned that cap and gown and there was not another dread in the Greek Theater. I changed my life to grow Dreadlocks growing them first, in my culture is like wearing the cap and gown first day of school. All of our ancestors bled to be here my only advice is to be mindful of the time spent on appearance and spirit. If you only fed spirit you would surrounded by light, if you only fed appearance you would not.
Simba
'
I think the only people who say anything as ridiculous as "white people shouldn't have dreads" are, as with most hate, completelynaiveon the subject. Chances are they know very little about dreadlocks and probably think they're started by rubbing unicorn crap mixed with pixie's piss into the hair...
If they are educated on the subject matter then it's just their opinion, and if they're saying stuff that stupid, they're not worth knowing. So either way, ignore them entirely ;D
