I was engaged in a reasoning with some friends, at a point in my life during which Rastafari permeated every thought in my head - it was how I saw life. It provided me a connection to the divine and a connection to my fellow man.

During this session, we were listening to a recording of a nyabinghi drum and chant. We were all really feeling the raw energy of word sound, and power. Singing along, dancing. Then I come to realize that I am singing: "White bwoy a follower!" Right. There I was, a white boy, realizing that the very culture I was embracing and living through was calling me out as a follower, a sheep. A rough situation.

Question to the masses: How does one reconcile these mixed emotions? The binghi men on record, in my opinion, can claim Rasta in a more genuine sense than I, yet they were, in effect, bringing the judgment fyah upon me simply because my skin is pale. As I noted above, my interpretation of Rasta relies on the phrase of "Leave all judgment unto HIM." By that notion, the binghi men would be in the wrong. Can a white bwoy scorn these binghi elders for not being true to the Rasta ethos? I think not.

I guess the true question to be answered is: What does it mean to be Rasta?

Anyone with the "right" answer gets a gold star.


~Everything is Everything~