White Rastas

[Son_of_Sellassie]

I am a white male in America, Wondering....... why are their people that believe somebody with my skin color cannot possibly believe in the teachings of Haillie Sellassie. See, I know and not beleive where every man woman and child was created, I know WHO the creator of every man woman and child is and that man is His Imperial Majesty, Haillie Sellassie I.
I know that we are all one being, just many divided under the sun. Iam am and will allways be faithful to my rasta beliefs and fellow rastas. If there is any for or against me please write I need the input, Thanks .

[Son_of_Sellassie]

P.S: Email me at Son_of_Sellassie@hotmail.com

[out_of_Zion]

Just as INI wonder why a devoted follower of HIM can't spell his name right.

[Poetic_Princess]

Blessings and Greetings Son_of_Selassie

Honestly it is not that we don't believe that white people can't believe in Rastafari,it is just some black people cling tightly to Rastafari because it seems to be the only black culture left which isn't too overly populated or taking over by whites also it is how many white people put it over many sport the hairstyle and claim they rastafari and many don't fully understand the teachings of Rastafari.Rastafarism has gone beyond colour,race and stereotype, it has being judge and received wrongly by many who donot fully understand the guidance and teachings of HIM whether black or white.
It is beyond of knowing who the creator is Son_of_Selassie anyone can know who the creator is but does that really mean they are rastafari? Rastafari is more than that it is a way of life, a understanding of oneself,and gaining enlightment from researching thyself and become one unite with thyself and surroundings and our ancestors gone before us, and the MotherLand and many more things which make up Rastafari.

And in my views from your post INI wonders how much about Rastafari do u know? and how deep are u into it? cause from the surface of ur post one clearly sees you don't really have a clue what it is to be Rastafari and what it deals with.Also i think you should read the article The Re-evolution of Rastafari by Tyehimba.It is a very soul searching food for thought article,maybe you will get something from it.

Remember Rastafari is livity not a commercial fantasy
Much Blessings

[iyah360]

I am a white male in America, Wondering....... why are their people that believe somebody with my skin color cannot possibly believe in the teachings of Haillie Sellassie. See, I know and not beleive where every man woman and child was created, I know WHO the creator of every man woman and child is and that man is His Imperial Majesty, Haillie Sellassie I.
I know that we are all one being, just many divided under the sun. Iam am and will allways be faithful to my rasta beliefs and fellow rastas. If there is any for or against me please write I need the input, Thanks .

Think about this: when someone shows you a hammer, why do you insist on hitting yourself in the head with it?

[Son_of_Sellassie]

 Iam sorry if my post did not reflect I in the fullest. I was on a time constraint. I have found that the light of Rastafari has made me a better man and has straightened my ethics to a better level.I love myself and all those around me . I assure I am not following the path of commercial-ism. I overstand that Rastafari is one of the few things that blacks have left of there own, I respect that. The last thing i want to do is take over and to be shun by brethren and sistren. please reply.

[Bantu_Kelani]

Here we go again..

No Colorless Rasta Movement!
by Ayinde

All things exist in three basic dimensions, the spiritual/historical aspect, the symbolic aspect and the Earth Movement.

The Spiritual aspect is what the ancients called entering the house of Rasta. This is the metaphysical/spiritual aspect of things. It is this realm all people can enter Rasta irrespective of race, color and social standing, but there is a way to enter that is well defined in our histories. (That is for another reasoning another time)

The symbolic aspect is to look the part. In the case of Rasta it is mostly the dreadlocks. Whites, Blacks and all in between can look the part.

The Earth-based Movement is for addressing the issues that fueled the resurgence of Rasta as a movement. The issues which gave rise to the Rasta Movement were Capitalism, Miseducation, Racism/White Privilege and heightened Gender discrimination. Of course, many other abuses spawned from that. How these issues impacted on Black people is what gave rise to the movement in the first place. These issues have not been resolved so the focus should not change.

As I said in an earlier reasoning, Whites can be symbolic Rastas as they can grow dreadlocks and repeat the words. Whites can also reflect on history, adopt the best values and develop spiritually towards entering the spiritual house of Rasta. Whites did not experience Black African sufferings during and after slavery. Therefore Whites cannot directly identify with the Earth movement but they can support, develop in the spirituality and participate. Only Black people who had similar experiences at the hands of the White system in this present lifetime can really identify with the nuances and subtleties that gave rise to the movement in the first place. The Movement was about addressing Black people's experiences at the hands of a White system.

Many are confusing spirituality and symbolism with the mechanics of an Earth Movement, which was developed to address specific issues. Only certain Black people can directly identify with what started the Rasta Earth Movement because the same conditions exist for most dark-skinned Blacks. Therefore dark-skinned Black people, who institutionalized racism impacts on the most, can directly identify with all three dimensions of Rasta at the same time. They can develop in the spiritual aspect, they can look the part (symbolically) and they can directly identify with the sufferings that started the Movement.

When a person says in order to be a Rasta one has to identify with Blackness, this is true for all people of all races in a metaphorical sense. This is dealing with spirituality. Anyone of any race can do the work to identify with anything in a spiritual sense.

This brings us to the part about Meritocracy:

Meritocracy is about selecting the most suitable person for a position.

I set out to address Racism, White Superiority and Gender discrimination which are major issues affecting Africans in and out this Movement.

People of all races can research and learn about the sufferings of others and of course many can recall their own personal sufferings and get some understanding of others. But only Black people have experienced the worst sufferings as blacks under the Racist system. If we are speaking about the people with the most experiences of both institutionalized racism and gender prejudices in this White world system then the people are obviously dark-skinned Black Women.

If such people were armed with the historical information then they would have both the information and the direct experiences to speak on all these issues.

Now tell me, can a White/light-skinned person or any light-skinned mixed race person ever directly experience the same ongoing lifelong racial and gender abuses as a dark-skinned Black person? No, they cannot. They can talk about their experiences as Whites or Light skinned mixed and in some cases they get abused badly. However, they cannot experience what it is to be a dark-skinned Black person in the system, growing up being told they were worthless and ugly, then having teachers disregard them etc. They cannot experience what it is to watch television and all the images are nothing like them. They cannot experience these things and much more. What I am saying is they will lack the deeper direct experiences that reaches to the soul.

So on the basis of Merit in a Black Earth Movement that is supposed to address these issues, we should all be looking at helping the worst victims get better informed and then helping them to come forward and advance the cause (once they are interested) as they are suitably qualified, armed with both the experiences and information which is widely accessible today.

In a Black movement, only really informed/enlightened dark-skinned Black people are best qualified to speak powerfully on the issues of racism and gender discrimination.

If there are exceptions where White-skinned people can have the dark-skinned Black people's experiences of Racism and gender discrimination then explain how this is possible.

If the Rasta movement was focused on helping those most affected by the system then we would have much more powerful speakers in the frontline engaging the politics and all other areas. But today too much attention is paid to people who are not the worst victims of the system. Too much chatter and showboating, and too few people with real experiences are coming forward or are being helped forward.

http://www.rastaspeaks.com/Rasta/ColorlessRasta.html

[sisMenenI]

This topic is getting old... but I have decided to write on it this time as I sight the bredren coming with innocence. Straight up, no one can say who you are or what you are allowed to believe or know... so why are so many "white rastas" posting with this insecurity of being accepted or not? Hail Sellassie I and be blessed son_of_Sellassie! JAH is the only Judge and InI are facing serious times, only weak hearts are conquered by babylon so stand firm and forward with JAH works as the sons and daughters of His Imperial Majesty and Mama Omega.

Now let me ask the I, why do you need the input? Where will it get you to hear different people's requirements for who can or cannot hail RasTafari? It will only bring the I down to hear responses like - " cause from the surface of ur post one clearly sees you don't really have a clue what it is to be Rastafari and what it deals with.." So look within and there will be your guidance from His Majesty, check the scriptures and learn from life ... Most importantly read the teachings of HIM!
Blessed Love

[gman]

Well for I on reading Poetic_Princess' post me nuh see nothing designed to bring Son_of_Selassie down. Just the princess's honest opinion presented in a respectful manner. She never even said he had no knowledge of Rastafari, she said "from the surface of [his] post" that was the impression she got.
I agree with you though that people should find their own path for themselves regardless of what others say. It doesn't mean you mustn't ask for input. Although personally I might be sick of seeing people asking for this kind of input cos it happens so much on this board that all such posts start to blend together in my head and sound whiny.
It seems this is always the issue that generates the most heat and the most responses on this board. I suppose that is a result of the internet world. In the physical world the majority of Rastafari people are Black, here on the internet (prob. due to disparities in computer access, who has the time to post etc.) it seems the opposite is true.
Moving on to the re-post of Ayinde's piece, I pretty much agree with it, but I wonder how much his statements about lighter-skinned/mixed people apply to the USA. Yes there is plenty of colorism [as distinct from racism] in ameriKKKa, my fiance can attest to that, being a stunningly gorgeous black-skinned woman who was called "ugly" by her grandmother as a child because of her complexion. But when it comes to my negus in the 'hood, I wonder how much these color distinctions apply. Unless you can actually pass for white, if you are any shade of black/brown, live in a certain area, dress/speak a certain way, you will get the same treatment from babylon, no doubt about it. You will be equally profiled, equally arrested, equally beaten down, equally shot in the back for a dam traffic ticket like happened to Timothy Thomas in Cincinnatti. There are also areas in ameriKKKa where Latinos who are lighter-skinned than Blacks get treated worse if anything, cos police, employers etc. feel they can get away with more when they are dealing with people who don't speak much English/don't know the laws/have shaky immigration status.
It seems that where colorism manifests the most in amerikkka is in romantic relationships. There are an awful lot of people who want lighter-skinned partners. That is a definite sickness that needs to be combatted.
BTW I am a "mixed" lighter-skinned very-much-recognizably-Black person. I don't think that colors my view on this issue (no pun intended) but I thought I should say that.

[Poetic_Princess]

First off, what I said in no way or any sight was I trying to put down Son_of_Sellassie and neither was I trying to state who can and can't hail HIM.From reading his post and understanding that was my first impression that I got from it and one only spoke the truth.
He asked for input and I gave him my input even though many say why bother what other say it can also be help to just here what other opinons are.

Also Son_of_Selassie I deeply and most humbly apologize if INI response offended you and it had seemed in anyway to you as bringing you down but INI was only giving my honest opinon and I can only give opinon on what you showforth.

[gman]

Hey sistren, personally I don't see why you should apologize. All you did was state your opinion. Only the most oversensitive of oversensitives could have taken any kind of offense from your post star. I doubt Son_of_Selassie took offense. Maybe he got some good food for thought.
Don't ever feel like you gotta apologize when you ain't done nothing wrong, nahmean... respect to de I Princess

[sisMenenI]

Sister, my apologies for quoting the I, it just matched my point of how ones may respond to his post that may not be of much encouragement or moreso that he would be setting himself up for responses such as the I's... if that is what he is seeking then Rasta break them down just to lift them high

 I see these types of threads in abundance on this website and it seems to have the same response everytime.. I didn't mean to pin point you and say you were putting him down, your post was upright and honest. Respect

[Oshun_Auset]

Moving on to the re-post of Ayinde's piece, I pretty much agree with it, but I wonder how much his statements about lighter-skinned/mixed people apply to the USA. Yes there is plenty of colorism [as distinct from racism] in ameriKKKa, my fiance can attest to that, being a stunningly gorgeous black-skinned woman who was called "ugly" by her grandmother as a child because of her complexion. But when it comes to my negus in the 'hood, I wonder how much these color distinctions apply. Unless you can actually pass for white, if you are any shade of black/brown, live in a certain area, dress/speak a certain way, you will get the same treatment from babylon, no doubt about it. You will be equally profiled, equally arrested, equally beaten down, equally shot in the back for a dam traffic ticket like happened to Timothy Thomas in Cincinnatti. There are also areas in ameriKKKa where Latinos who are lighter-skinned than Blacks get treated worse if anything, cos police, employers etc. feel they can get away with more when they are dealing with people who don't speak much English/don't know the laws/have shaky immigration status.
It seems that where colorism manifests the most in amerikkka is in romantic relationships. There are an awful lot of people who want lighter-skinned partners. That is a definite sickness that needs to be combatted.
BTW I am a "mixed" lighter-skinned very-much-recognizably-Black person. I don't think that colors my view on this issue (no pun intended) but I thought I should say that.

I was thinking similar thoughts on the piece...BUT I think that may come out of the fact that you are "brown" and you are in the U.S(I am also "brown" and in the U.S.)....In the U.S. colorism is more of an internal problem in the African community, although there are still instances that you get prefferential treatment from the system on a daily basis. I noticed I don't get pulled over by the police as often as my Darker brothers and sisters, and of course we see reperesentatives of our appearance more often in popular media/propoganda. Of course what you said about the colorism in so-called romantic relationships is PAINFULLY true(this is a "curse" for me since anyone who would like me for my lighter skin would be the opposite of the mentality I'm looking for) ...BUT Especially globally speaking, a lighter skinned African does get prefferential treatment from the system. A good example is the "mulatto/colored" and East Indian/Lebanese/Arabic classes that have set themselves up as the "next" oppressors after the exodus of the Colonialists/Whites(this exodus was largely physical, not economic)...This can be observed throughout the Carribean, Central America, South America, and Africa(and in parts of the U.S. South...like New Orleans) It is an automatic result of the White Supremacist/caste system that capitalism has created to better exploit the masses. To deny this in any way is to not see the system for what it is, and how it works. This doesn't take away from the oppression and exploitation that anyone of obvious African ancestry experiences in the U.S.(and worldwide) reguardless of shade...but it is acknowledging the reality of the severe oppression of our darker brothers and sisters, which in turn allows us to fight against the system with the propper vigillance and tactics. The colorism(and sexism) inherant in the system can actually be used to cripple it. Have you ever seen the movie "The Spook who sat by the Door"? It demonstrates a good example of this colorism in the system being used to the revolutions advantage...All inequalities in the system will lead to it's own downfall.

[Jahse]

Greetings,
    As I scroll down and read the posts and replies from all, its unbelievable that this topic of "White Rasta's" is even being addressed again and again... Son_of_Selassie. You chose the name "Son of Selassie" so that should dispell any insecurities that you have. One should not question the works of His Majesty and Queen Menen for Iration is Iration. Why do you even call yourself a "White Rasta"? HMMMMMM? What separation is going on there? Answer this .. How does the I feel when chanting Ises and the chat "Everywhere InI a trod, white boy a follow" Rides? There must be a comfort within these gates of Perfect love I. It seems you seek comfort in this livity as a "White Rasta" outside the gates. Sight the Sistren words and read up the works/Speeches/Teaching of His Majesty and burn out the devils philosophy.
    Ises I

[gman]

Sis. Oshun, you are absolutely right... I was just pointing out that *it seems to me* that in the US in particular colorism takes a backseat to general racism. Cos if you ain't white then you are just a "N*" in amerikkka period (or a spic or whatever). But no doubt there are degrees of discrimination as you say. Not only skin shade but also size etc., certainly the most likely brother to get blown away by a kkkop on mistaken identity or whatever would be a big, tall, broad, black-skinned brother.
In the Caribbean from my experience colorism is more prominent alongside general racism. This is in Guyana where of course the presence of large numbers of East Indians and smaller numbers of Chinese, Amerindians and Portuguese complicates things. The Portuguese were of course given the highest status under the British, being 'white' (though not quite as 'white' as the British, according to the said Brits). East Indians in GT are a range of shades like Africans, but like us most of them in Guyana are dark-skinned, some as black as the blackest African. Our relative status has gone up and down. When they were still indentured servants and we were 'free' we had higher status generally. Under the former PNC regime we had higher status by government decree. Now under the PPP we (Africans) have lower status by government decree. Then there is the racism/colorism which some Hindus get from their religion to add to the mix. Then there are the Amerindians who are generally lighter-skinned than either us or the Indians, but who hold the lowest place on the whole totem pole (for example I have heard a mixed Amerindian/Black person described as being a mix of "Buck and People", the implication being that 'bucks' [Amerindians] are not really people).
I can also vividly remember a Black woman passing by, looking at me as a child, and saying " Ah wish ah could have a nice light-skin pickney like duh." Sickening.
Just a quick correction to your post, I'm not in the US right now, I'm in Brazil, and now suddenly I'm not Black any more, I'm "pardo" or something... there is a bewildering variety of racial classifications here... anyway more on that some other time...