rastafarian education?

Can anyone explain the grammar differences? "I am" becomes "I is." There was some editing done on your original post Ed Locks but I do recognize your attempt to speak genuine Rasta. I can't figure out if the religion's grammar differences were contrived as simply a way to indicate individuality from the rest of their surrounding society or.. what. Kind of like putting on a British accent when you were born in California. wtf.

Puts me in mind of Ten Things I Hate About You(movie) in the classroom scene when the black teacher is ranting about the main character and these couple of white Rastas raise up their fists and say, "Tha's right, mon!" And then the teacher says, "And don't get me started on you two!" He can smell bullshit a mile off, obviously. When not born in the Caribbean wtf would you speak like you were?

Not saying whites can't be Rasta but it certainly seems contraindicated for a white person's personal safety since at the core it can promote racism. If you're not black and obviously not going to get to Rasta heaven then why did you get on the Rasta train to begin with? Get rid of the racism and it'd be a lovely thing. Erm.. minus the prophet, too. Someone can write some cool spiritual shit and not want to be called God reincarnated. I worship Jim Morrison but he never asked me to. Purely a personal choice on my part. And no need to change my grammar.

Angel, I could go into it in a little more detail, but the grammarical terms are escaping me right now. "I am" became "I is" by simple evolution of language. "I is" is a more evolved phrase. It's not only found in Jamaica or Rasta speak. Look at black culture. It's not uncommon to hear "I be" instead of "I am" or "He/she be" instead of "he/she is" or even "they be" instead of "they are".

Even the word "aint" comes form an old word "amnot". But we have lost the ability topronouncem and n together in one word like that, so it became "aint".

It's the evolution of language. Look into Steven Pinker. I'm not sure if he goes into this exact evolutionary concept, but he has tons and tons of books on evolution, and he seems to focus on language and ideas.

The way they speak is to kind of promote the idea of unity and everything. Like they can say "Inity" instead of unity, cos it's "I" instead of "you" or something like that. And you need to understand that the whole movement was formed in a time when black people were still being not just discriminated against, but absolutely brutalised. Black power isn't offensive just like white power in itself isn't. Power doesn't mean superiority, it means power over yourself, power to help and stand up for yourself (and your people in this case). That isn't offensive any way you look at it. Leonard Howell had some rasta principles that were based on hatred towards the white race, yeah, but can you really blame him? Can you truly say that if you saw your loved ones being raped, beaten, tortured and killed purely because of their skin colour, you wouldn't lose your sense of compassion and humanity towards them? People now tend to focus on the idea of one love and unity and equality though, but it was started as a black movement. So some rastas focus on the idea of peace and love, but for the most part, you don't forget why it was started and the ideas it holds.

Angel Frye said:

Can anyone explain the grammar differences? "I am" becomes "I is." There was some editing done on your original post Ed Locks but I do recognize your attempt to speak genuine Rasta. I can't figure out if the religion's grammar differences were contrived as simply a way to indicate individuality from the rest of their surrounding society or.. what. Kind of like putting on a British accent when you were born in California. wtf.

Puts me in mind of Ten Things I Hate About You(movie) in the classroom scene when the black teacher is ranting about the main character and these couple of white Rastas raise up their fists and say, "Tha's right, mon!" And then the teacher says, "And don't get me started on you two!" He can smell bullshit a mile off, obviously. When not born in the Caribbean wtf would you speak like you were?

Not saying whites can't be Rasta but it certainly seems contraindicated for a white person's personal safety since at the core it can promote racism. If you're not black and obviously not going to get to Rasta heaven then why did you get on the Rasta train to begin with? Get rid of the racism and it'd be a lovely thing. Erm.. minus the prophet, too. Someone can write some cool spiritual shit and not want to be called God reincarnated. I worship Jim Morrison but he never asked me to. Purely a personal choice on my part. And no need to change my grammar.

Woah there. Black power isn't offensive because black people have been held down for practically ever. There is nothing wrong with them wanting to feel better about themselves. So It's fine for them to have black power. White power on the other hand ishorrendously offensive. White people have had it better all along. What do we have to stand up for to make ourselves feel better? We already don't get arrested as much, get paid much much more, don't get followed around stores, get better educations, have better homes... do I need to go on? It'sdisrespectfulfor white people to stand up and say we need to unite to feel better about ourselves, cause we've had it great all along.

"It'sdisrespectfulfor white people to stand up and say we need to unite to feel better about ourselves, cause we've had it great all along."

Disrespectful? Shit, man! I feel disrespected against when I can't keep pride in my own race without it being a damn PC issue! I don't have anything to be ashamed about. I didn't personally do anything wrong against black people. What's good for the goose isn't necessarily good for the gander here, Baba Fats. I'm all about equality. But when racial tension escalates because of a (once, not for much longer)minority screams Black Power and has the Equal Opportunity laws to enforce support of peace, then where does this leave our need for Affirmative Action?

When my mother was in nursing school and raising me on her own she couldn't get food stamps to help to put a few jars of peanut butter in our cabinet every month because get this... she's white. I kid you not. The social worker flat out told her this. Affirmative action is no longer needed. EO laws have done away with the need for Affirmative action and now it's killing our colleges because less qualified individuals get in just because of the need to keep up with Affirmative Action laws. I read about a lawsuit about a month ago about this very thing and the courts were PRAYING(ha ha) that the woman would drop the suit because she was due to graduate another college this year. She told them to stick it. So yes, feathers are ruffled and I think rightfully so. Equal Opportunity is just that -- opportunity. It should not be a guarantee if you are less qualified. Affirmative action WAS needed for quite a while so the racists bastards who couldn't get their head out of the sand would be forced to comply and get with the times. But it is not needed any longer and now it's starting to be seen for what it has evolved into- racism.

I read about a meteorologist(male) who was turned down for several jobs because he didn't have boobs and nice legs. He sued. Good for him, because the woman who got his job wasn't even qualified for it. But she had nice boobs so... it's the morally correct thing to do right? We'd rather look at boobs instead of an older white guy on tv telling us we're in for hail or five feet of snow. See, EO laws protect him from being sexually discriminated against. EO laws protect minorities AND majority races as well as gender descrimination.

Let's consider this not on the skin color level, instead, if that make you more comfortable. Consider North and ermm.. South? Ireland. That crap's been going on for how long?! And that's just about religion, political ties to Britain, and historically drawn lines on a map. The lines are blurring so slowly that the bombs are still going off and people are still terrified to walk their children to school but they're living in a war zone trying to get by day by day without losing their minds.

We don't live in a racial war zone in this country any more. We're encouraging tolerance in our children at such a fierce speed that I'm amazed at the things which come out of my two boys' mouths. How they refer to children and other people of a different color or set of beliefs. They're so open minded it's blowing MY mind! The emotional progress made from one generation to the next is inspiring.

We don't need to shame white people any longer. There are too many apologists as it is. History is history and if we teach our children better then that is the best way to heal and make amends. I'm not going to walk on eggshells because someone can't get over their crappy childhood or whatever. Hold onto a grudge if you want but that negativity will simply eat you alive meanwhile you'll be seen as a curmudgeon and cantankerous bastard by the more open minded people around you.

We do still live in a racial war zone. it's just more covert. Black people still make less money than white people just like women still make 75 cents to the dollar that men make. Affermative action helps colored people get into school and jobs, but it doesn't affirm that they will not get fired or flunk out.

We should be teaching out kids about equality, but when you have suburbs where they spend hundreds of times more per student than in the city, is that equal?

Read the US constitution, Slavery was abolished, except in prison. Why do you think more black people end up there than white people?

Crack and cocaine are the same drug, but crack is cheaper, so poor colored people can get it. Rich white people get coke. But the penalty for crack was much harsher for crack until about 6 months ago.

Hey, yeah. I'm from eastern European and Israeli background. I had nothing to do with enslaving black Africans, but lets face it, they have gotten the shaft since the minute Europeans entered their lives and they still are. White europeans have had it made and still do. Look at Africa. Those boundary lines do not mean anything except that they prove that Europeans once divided it up to their own liking. Why do you think there are so many problems and wars going on in Africa?

Sorry your mom couldn't get food stamp, but really, that did not have to do with the fact that she's white. I don't believe that for a minute.

I don't think we need to shame white people. I don't go around telling white people that they should fel bad, but I do believe that if a group of white people get together and talk about how great it is to be white is just belittling colored people. Of course it's great to be white. You and I will always get a job before a black person or a woman any day. You and I don't get followed around stores because of the color of our skin. Cops don't stop you and I on the regular because we are white. We don't get longer and harsher jail sentences. I went to a suburb school that spent more money on me than inner city schools. Why do you think it's ok to brag about that?

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I actually don't think white power in itself is offensive. Shouldn't be. If every single white person on the planet wanted no power over themselves, they'd be the ones being oppressed on a large-scale level. Power for all people is needed. It's only really offensive because a non-poor white person in America or Europe doesn't have any real need to proclaim white power. It's more of a reaction to the black power movement I guess.

Still, just because racism isn't so explicit anymore, doesn't mean it's not still there and affecting people. Go and ask some black teenagers if they've heard of Mary Seacole or if they know about African history before slavery. Then ask them if they've heard of Lil Wayne and if they know about slavery. They'll most likely know more about the latter, because the discrimination going on today is more about keeping people uninformed and powerless by giving them negative role models. Similarly to how women are bombarded with thin women who've had plastic surgery and whose pictures are all edited to perfection on a computer.

And most people don't hold it against anyone. Just that we were talking about the Rastafari movement, and when it was started, it wasn't a simple case of racism, it was, "Oh hey, that black kid looked at my wife, let's stab him repeatedly, hang him and burn him alive and then cut off his body parts as souveneirs." Can you blame people for seeing white people commit these atrocities and coming to the conclusion that they're all like that? Can you blame them for having distrust for white people rather than welcoming them with open arms and judging them as individuals? However, those judgmental individuals are in the minority. Mostly people who were around to see it or whose parents were, I suppose, therefore projecting their distrust onto their kids.

Well, ok. there's a difference between self power and white power. Having power over yourself and flaunting it is great (it can get annoying to those around you, but it's a good thing to have), being proud that you're white and flaunting it, is completely different.

What sound better: "I am great because I have become the master of future!" or "I am great because I am a white man!"

Good point Tara. Most black kids will know more about Lil Wayne than slavery, and especially history of Africa before slavery. Luckily, most city schools do have one year of African American History, so they get more than we do in the burbs, but not much. Because almost none is known anymore. Once Europeans came in and destroyed Africa by splitting it up, almost all of the oral traditions and history is gone. At this point, you can go to Africa and they don't even know a whole lot about their own history before the 1500's.

The continent of Africa is a completely separate issue, Baba. I agree that it's been sliced and diced to hell and back. But what about in the States? About the rest, we'll have to agree to disagree I suppose. And you might not shame white people but lemme tell ya- we're getting pretty good advice from OTHER white people that we should be ashamed of ourselves. Fox news... ye gods. If you can't see that Corporate America wants white Americans to be so ashamed of themselves that they're scared to say boo! then .... oh well. You're entitled to your opinion.

Why is it that every other story is about a black person committing a crime? Where are all the white people?!! What- we don't rob banks and shit? Yes. We do. But to propagate that racist bullshit in the media is what they're after and they're winning. Just stirring the pot. That's all they're doing.

"You and I will always get a job before a black person or a woman any day."

No. That is what Affirmative Action is for, Baba. We are getting stomped on to please the racial quota. Racism sucks when it's on the other foot. (And maybe that's the point?)The pendulum swings back and forth and that's life.

I don't get with my other white friends and yap about how 'great' it is to be white, and not because it would be crass to do so but because I honestly don't think about the point of even saying such a thing. It's not great. I made my life what it is every step of the way, fucks ups and all. I went to a crappy school and still managed to get my brain focused on real life. MY KIDS have gone to crappy schools(until I yanked them out two years ago to do cyber school) and it was so riddled with bureaucratic nonsense that was all about dumbing down our kids. Ridiculous. The kids needed to have their hands held through every single activity of the day. Took me a YEAR to un-school them from that crap and prove to them that they do have more common sense than they realized. The 'Nanny State' is very good at creating good little future prisoners.

If we need to find something to be angry at, let's really find out who the enemy is: corporate powers which tell you and me that we're nothing but an expendable number to be bet upon in the stock markets. THAT is one real problem plaguing African nations which is being fought but unfortunately with an unrealistic goal. The birth certificate is needed to get this, this, and this, but they're not realizing they're being thrust into a system they'll never get out of. Carrot and stick, my man. WE bought into it decades and and we've finally catching on.

updated by @angel-frye: 07/23/15 05:08:27PM