WHILE REASONING WITH my brethren, Randy Fagan, the other day, it dawned on me; Rastafari must be the most exploited and abused religion in this world.
To make matters worse, every locks-head man seems to have a personalised doctrine and individual interpretation of Rastafari. And most times the doctrine is based on nothing more than the effect of a high grade spliff. Yes, I know I may upset a few zealots, but dem coulda "fire bun" till thy kingdom come, truth is truth.
I once spoke to a rasta with long locks, who didn't even care about the Nazarene vow; he rationalised his decision to stop combing his hair with the argument that a verse in the Bible says "we have all sinned and comb short of the glory of God."
Many Jamaican performing artistes treat the name of Rastafari like a toilet - something you use for your personal convenience and then walk away from it when you no longer need it. Yeah, many wannabe reggae personalities don't have a clue about Rasta, but they grow locks and wear red, gold and green costumes because they figure it will make them more commercially viable. Judgement pon dat.
According to Randy, a brother starting a T-shirt line in New York, he makes sure that he puts arrangements in place to get permission and pay for the use of the images of the well-known reggae stars he will use on his shirts. Good. But, he also has many shirts with the image of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie; and for that, nobody gives permission and nobody gets paid. Why? OK, maybe they feel that The Almighty don't need money, but every church collects offering, and uses some of it to help the poor and suffering of the world. So why every self proclaimed Rastafarian feels he or she has the right to sell images of the emperor and his family for personal commercial gain, without any consideration to giving back something to the Royal Family, or to the poor people of Ethiopia? Who owns the copyright on Rasta?
Recently, I happened to catch an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show highlighting some wonderful work that Oprah did in Ethiopia with women who are suffering and I felt ashamed for my Rastafarian brethren. Why? Many have the means to do just as much, but are busy blinging out, or hard at work burning 'b....cat' and condemning 'chi-chi man'. I felt embarrassed on behalf of the bandwagonists who wave the Ethiopian national flag at every stage show, but don't give a damn about the people of Ethiopia. Can you count the number of reggae songs that glorify Ethiopia? But ask the singers about life in Ethiopia. Most don't know and the rest don't care.
I also understand that certain big-name entertainers chant Rastafari name but declined the invitation to perform in Ethiopia for Marley's birthday, because the money wasn't right. Compare that with Bob Marley who refused to take any payment for performing at Zimbabwe's independence celebration, and even insisted on paying all travel expenses out of his own pocket.
Many rich and famous adherents of the Rastafarian faith would do well to follow the example of people like Bob Marley; as well as the late founder of the Twelve Tribes of Israel Dr. Vernon Carrington (AKA Prophet Gad). Brother Gad had a big dance in Kingston some years ago called Royal Ethiopian Family Ball. And he personally handed over the proceeds from the event to a representative of the Ethiopian Royal family, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen. The prince was moved to tears. So this is what I want to ask some of those erratic fire-burning rebels without a cause; "unnu working for Jah, or a round of applause?"
What yu say? box-mi-back@hotmail.com.
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