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Re: Still racism?
Posted By: Jahvier In Response To: Re: Still racism? (Rootsie)
Date: Tuesday, 20 April 2004, at 12:16 p.m.
Greetings my brother, I want to clarify some points:
"You can choose to put on dreadlocks and not get a job because of it. You can chant Rastafari and believe that makes you a downpressed person with the right to 'repatriate' to Africa."
"How do you even imagine that you should 'repatriate' to a place whites pillaged for 500 years? You think they going to welcome you 'home'? "
First, I do not believe that Rastafari makes me a downpressed person, what's the purpose of that?. Second, I don't feel I have the right to Repatriate because I'm a rastaman, I said that I was talking about racism, the question of repatriation remains debatable as it is shown on the other posts. Personally I do not see it as repatriation, I see it as an exodus like other posting-brother called it.
"And of all people, whites who call themselves Rasta should be willing and able to reason on race and listen to blacks without branding them 'racist'."
I´m willing. I recognize that I shouldn't have used the word racist, my mistake. It is just that I feel I'm being hated just for the colour of my skin, I'm guilty for being white? If you don't know me, how can you judge me just for the colour of my skin, the "war" speech comes to my mind. You cannot love Jah and no love your bredrin.
"The government of your country is racist. You don't think you have responsibility to deal with that?"
I don't participate in politics, I believe that Rasta shouldn't deal with that, I believe only Nyahbinghi Theocracy, but that's my humble opinion. I do participate in anti-babylonian movements.
"How is it you fail to notice that modern Rasta began as a movement of BLACK people for BLACK liberation? What you think 'Blackman Redemption' is?"
I haven't failed to notice that, I'm aware of blackness in this context. Maybe I expressed myself wrong, forgive me please, remember that I'm a non-native english speaker. I love black people, my God is black, I even would like to be black, but I'm not.
Please don't believe that I'm writing this with anger, I write about this with sadness, because I'm always trying to spread the word about Rasta, about Selassie I, about brotherhood, love & unity, chanting down babylon and what is the purpose of this if black rasta hate white rasta? it makes me so sad man, really sad. I know that Rasta is black redemption, I think we (white) Rasta have so much to learn from black rasta, but how can we get closer to learn from them if they hate us?. Besides, some travelling bredrins have trod to Jamaica several times to learn from the Elders, from Bobo and Nyahbinghi Elders, they received the blessing and some even were named Rases, so if Jamaican rasta elders have love for us and do not hate us, why others do?.
"If you are drawn to it, and nobody is suggesting you can't be, what does this mean in terms of the way you will live your life? If it is that you think you have found a way to 'cure' your whiteness and the HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITY you have because of it, whether you like it or not, it won't work, and it's absolutely dishonest."
For me Rasta is not to cure my whiteness, for me Rasta is God, simple and wonderful. I think rasta do helped me to understand the evilness of white babylonian system, but something that life has taught me is that good people is good people, no matter the colour, no matter what. It is just I don't feel I'm inside that group responsible for 500 years of white pillaged as you said it.
Something comes to my mind: Marley, black mother-white father, still respected for the works he did for rasta/black people as a blackman. We South-americans, white father-indigenous mother, are still the same "whites"? Do we still have the same HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITY?.
Please understand my point of view, feel the sadness in my words.
Love my brother,
Jahvier.
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