Dreads and Ethnicity

i musta missed that but the thing is worldwide more then 1/3 of rastafarians are not black rasta is a religion not a race there are asian indian (both from india and native american) swedish german jewish well u get the idea rastafarians come from all walks of life

but at the same time

globaly only 1/2 or less of blacks with dreads are rastas and only 1/4 or so of whites with dreads are rastas

well no those estimates are probably high maybe 10 and 15% i wasnt thinking globaly at all just america the islands and europe but arab and asia and india and all the rest have so many dreads that arent rastas it really drives that down

theres way more non rasta dreadies out there then rasta but the averages vary county to country

odviosly jamaican dreads are probly more then 70 or even 80 percent rasta

but even reggae isnt all rasta either theres essene reggae buddhist reggae and jewish too

even hare krishne

there are impostafarians fir sure ppl who act the act without believing in it but that dont mean they have dreads or they have dreads to act like rastas

(not all rastas have dreads either dreads are not a requirement of the religion only a personal choice of those who seek to live theyre beliefs to the fullest extent)

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1
updated by @soaring-eagle: 07/22/15 12:23:51PM

yea the whole idea this article is presenting is breeding nothing more than ignorance which is why I posted it. Its almost humorous.

I know its true that many white folk look down upon white folk in particular for having dreads...but not fair to say allcaucasions dont look good with em cause i have seen some black folk who dont look good with dreads too. Again tho, when was rocking dreads in a modern day era truly and onlyabout the "aesthetic" look of it anyways?

One thing i will say tho which could create some hot debate is that Elvis Presley did take black music and songs and turn em mainstream for a white audience. I also think colonel sanders did the same thing with fried chicken lol.But then again,what is America if not a melting pot of culture apropriations?But dreadlocks themselves are age old ancestry to every human who never bothered with a comb. Period.

It's just a bunch of close minded black guys trying to up themselves and "their" ways instead of opening their eyes and opening their knowledge.

Masai warriors in africa are known for their dyed red dreads as well..very true what you said though is not imitation the highest form of flattery?
Maxe said:

I don't get why some of the commenters on that site are annoyed that people from other races are embracing things that were originally only a part of african american subculture (not talking about dreads, the only african heritage I know forsomething like dreadsis the Hima tribe).

The world is becoming globalised and african americans should be proud that their influence on the melting pot has been so big (jazz, blues, RnB, hip-hop, clothes, foods, slangetc.)

Just think back 100 years where all those things would have been considered outrageous by all 'white' people...nowadays the 'black' influence is almost predominant.

actualy africans who worked clamming and such who had theyre dreads dangeling in the ocean and had cowry shells stuck in theyre dreads were concidered hard workers because of the shells in theytre dreads so got a higher price not that that lowers the hurt u meantioned just correcting a fact that theyre dreads were not always cut and some were actualy prized fior the conditions of the dreads at least till after the auctions then they may have been cut i dunno

i just know thats where the tradition of wearing shells in dreads came from

but the thing that they dont get is although dreads are popular amongst rastas and african culture they were popular amongst all other cultures as well

the idea that they are an afrocentric phenomena is flawed

and its basis is mostly on the sterotype that all dreads are rastas or wannabe rastas

DeMarco Ryans said:

Away from tribes you also have the dreadlocks formed under the conditions of slavery. Those that survived the journey often and very filthy neglect dreads which were cut off when they were put up for auction. Gotta understand there is still a lot of hurt for black people when it comes to how far back the race has been set back. Some just can't move forwards, and that to me is even worse



Maxe said:

I don't get why some of the commenters on that site are annoyed that people from other races are embracing things that were originally only a part of african american subculture (not talking about dreads, the only african heritage I know forsomething like dreadsis the Hima tribe).

The world is becoming globalised and african americans should be proud that their influence on the melting pot has been so big (jazz, blues, RnB, hip-hop, clothes, foods, slangetc.)

Just think back 100 years where all those things would have been considered outrageous by all 'white' people...nowadays the 'black' influence is almost predominant.

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

altho i will say 1 thing on race and dreads

it pisses me off when ppl who have dreads are disrespectful to rastas and dreads who are african and act like the worse thing in the world would be to be called a rasta

if your gonna dread u should have respect for all cultures that respect dreads

that is if u want to get respect back

i have alotta rastsa freinfds and get alotta respect from themby simply giving them the respect they desserve too

when u dread u shouldnt be insulting those who also dread especialy if u dread for fashion and they dread as a spiritual commitment

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Yeah SE I'm growing my dreads as a reminder each day that I grow just as my hair, and each day is a new journey. Also I grow them as I read my Bible and grow spiritually. I believe you should grow dreads and grow yourself....if you want it as a hair style...eh....just be respectful to the people who see them more than..."hair".So far I've become a much kinder person, reminding myself to be kind to others no matter what. That's my Dread Journey Hopefully I'll finish my bible by my 1 year :P

soaringeagle said:

altho i will say 1 thing on race and dreads

it pisses me off when ppl who have dreads are disrespectful to rastas and dreads who are african and act like the worse thing in the world would be to be called a rasta

if your gonna dread u should have respect for all cultures that respect dreads

that is if u want to get respect back

i have alotta rastsa freinfds and get alotta respect from themby simply giving them the respect they desserve too

when u dread u shouldnt be insulting those who also dread especialy if u dread for fashion and they dread as a spiritual commitment

dreadlocks is really colorblind and without prejudice in my opinion and anyone who fails to accept that has some true soul searching to do

Eh, it's just some black guy acting like an authority and expert on African American culture, which is ironic, since he doesn't have much knowledge of it to begin with. Hell, what do dreadlocks have to do with African American culture, anyway? I've never seen an african american(And I mean, native to the U.S., not from Africa or elsewhere) grow dreadlocks naturally. Just the typical gelled up twists. So in that regard, I wouldn't consider ACTUAL natural dreadlocks to be a part of African AMERICAN culture. As a matter of fact, I've not seen many Africans with dreadlocks as well. My family is mostly native to Africa(except for the most recent generation born in the U.S.), and when I visit relatives, I basically get the "What the hell happened to this boy's hair" look. Come to think of it, didn't dreadlocks exist before civilizations, anyway? So who's to say it originated from ANY culture? I mean, honestly, hair is hair. It belongs to whomever is growing it, so let them do what they want with it. Whoever wrote that article should probably take a look at this site as well. Not everyone uses those ridiculous starter kits. His argument is a bit too one-sided, don't you think?