Money or Dreads?

It's true what you say Ryan, looking at the world from a realistic point of view one will just cut off all this hair and make tons of money. However, that idea doesn't sit right with me, knowing that I can cut my hair in turn for some money will make me feel ill and regretful that I sold my divine right for some paper that can only buy me things I don't need. I thank you for your outlook because you have made me see things from a clear perspective.

updated by @samson: 07/23/15 04:21:25PM

May God blessyou Samson. Hold tight to yur strains. Bona fide love and loyalty has deep roots. i take ya must know this. Keep skating.

what is tragic in this is that its even an issue if I braid or dread my hair its and issue but a woman of ethnic persuasion can wear the same style and because of the culture its accepted. its all part of the stereotypical office bs. you do have to feed and house yourself, however I really wish that people could see if your clean, dressed in a professional manner and are educated or experienced hairstyle should not be the concern. This is a spiritual journey for me and corporate america should not be able to take that option away. If I were muslom and covered my hair it would be accepted, what makes dreads diffrent?

I think Ryan hit the nail on the head. people form stereotypes. This is just a fact of human nature. There will be people who will lump you in the category of unprofessional/ stoner/ hippie or whatever the case may be. This is something that you will just have to deal with. I hope it works out for you. And the black tam or satin wrap idea might work, but the sad fact is that you will be judged immediately, based solely on your appearance.

I am loving this discussion! I brushed out my last set of dreads because I decided the only way to feed my family was to get "normal" and find a "good" job. So, with broken hair and a broken spirit, I never found that job.

5 years later I have beautiful dreads and have accepted that part of having dreads, for me, has been that I will always have to work a bit harder and find my own path, i.e., make my own "good" job. My husband and I are both self employed. I make clothes and jewelry and he has a super long beard, is covered in tattoos, and has a bar.

I am a college graduate and will probably never use my college degree. My husband used to be a fireman! We both stepped back from I guess what is kind of "corporate thinking" and thought about what would make us happy. Who knows. Maybe one day we will actually be quite successful at it, too!

Go with your gut.

I luckily have had my job for the better part of a decade, I make more than enough to keep myself and my girlfriend living comfortably. But while I'm heavily tattooed ( down to both sets of knuckles.) and I'm incredibly anti social and what would be considered "rude" in normal society. (I'm autistic) I've come to the conclusion that I won't rise in my company any higher than I have so that's when I firmly decided that going with dreads is feasible considering that in my current station dreads wouldn't be the worse thing on my body. Nor will it bother me that I'm not going any higher in the company now that I know how they operate.

I felt the need to bring up a realistic point of view in this thread because there are a lot of young people out there who want to dread or be "counter culture" with out thinking of the whole picture or of the future. It may be cool during college and high school but those choices can have consequences when you head in to "Adult" high school. Which is honestly all it is

So I guess that I've given up on rising the corporate ladder I can finally start living for myself and how I want to. Just biding my time now to go completely off grid and never have to deal with or see another person again unless I feel like selling things at the farmers market. It could all be a blessing in disguise I'm beginning to think.

I love this story !!! happy for you guys !!

Geeks said:

I am loving this discussion! I brushed out my last set of dreads because I decided the only way to feed my family was to get "normal" and find a "good" job. So, with broken hair and a broken spirit, I never found that job.

5 years later I have beautiful dreads and have accepted that part of having dreads, for me, has been that I will always have to work a bit harder and find my own path, i.e., make my own "good" job. My husband and I are both self employed. I make clothes and jewelry and he has a super long beard, is covered in tattoos, and has a bar.

I am a college graduate and will probably never use my college degree. My husband used to be a fireman! We both stepped back from I guess what is kind of "corporate thinking" and thought about what would make us happy. Who knows. Maybe one day we will actually be quite successful at it, too!

Go with your gut.

Most of the comments here are incredibly narrow-minded.If you have African hair it's pretty much a disaster to keep that long without either a ton of products or braids that have to be redone every month or so. The main reason is this that it's more accepted for those with African hair to wear dreads, not some bogus culture claim. Furthermore, blacks already have a disadvantage in getting a job in the first place. Even in freaking Africa! And unlike having dreads, being black isn't a choice.If money to you is paper that doesn't buy you anything you need (you know you conveniently forgot about food, water and housing) then it is atleast your responsibility to earn as much money as possible so that you can help others. If you earn 100k a year and only need 20k you could easily use that 80k per year to...say...help like 100 stray animals per year have a good comfortable life, rather then being euthanized after having a short wreck of a life because humans are horrible demons. To say your hair is more important then that makes you...pretty much evil in my opinion.Money is the most important thing, if not to you then to those who do not have the choice of cutting off their dreads and earning it for themselves. If dreads interfere with you being able to get or keep a job that you would be happy with doing while earning more money and you refuse to do so for some ridiculous "Stick it to da man!" statement is completely forgetting what is really important in life.And SE:That comment about a company earning more off of your work then you earn in pay is the most logical thing I have ever heard. That is the entire point of hiring someone! And often you're actually at a huge advantage working for pay instead of actually owning the company. Just look at the stock market. Owning a company can be a complete disaster. Working for a wage is a much safer choice and this is why people do it in the first place.

Self loathing much? Humans aren't evil, they may do evil things but to pigeon hole a many for the actions of few is also incredibly narrow minded. If you see money as the most important thing then I feel bad for you. Sure money can be a catalyst for a comfortable life for some it isn't the answer for some. Being rich and being wealthy are different things. I've seen people with no money or possessions as happy as the richest fat cat. It's a matter of perception.

Again you say money is unimportant and list happiness as important and not having anything to do with money.But why wouldn't you earn the money anyway and use it to help others? If you choose not to do so, then clearly you don't really feel like helping others. In other words, you are selfish. The world would look alot better if the majority of people weren't selfish and evil.And I do not hate myself, because I do not live the life of a selfish and evil person. The problem is that I'm not exactly in the majority.