And while we're on the subject of hair... I hope that pot legalization is the end of the white dreadlock movement. And I feel like this for 2 reasons. Personally, I feel like a lot of white people use dreadlocks as a way of broadcasting their stonerdom. I had dreads long before I took my first toke, but I was always aware that people would look at me and assume that I was 420-friendly because of my hair. So, when I see white people with locks, I know that they know that I know they like pot. Don't get me wrong though, I don't really appreciate any loud proclamation of stoner culture. Mostly, because I think that just makes us look even worse. It turns our association with cannabis into the singular identifying aspect of our personalities. Isn't that awful? I'd like to think of anyone who enjoys pot recreationally or uses it medicinally as more than just a pot-head or more than just a patient. We're still students, athletes, parents, nurses, accountants, nannies, musicians, lawyers. And I use those examples, because I can name real people who are all of those things. Just like I'm not just a black man, I'm not just pro-pot. But unfortunately, I feel like that is the message most white folks with dreads are sending the rest of us. But more importantly, when white folks wear their hair in locks, they're appropriating black culture without recognizing it. This is a much larger issue, because it is subtle but incredibly powerful. When I was in college, I worked at a bar in town. It never ceased to amaze me just how many of my white peers could drunkenly recite all the words to both "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd and "Hypnotize" by The Notorious B.I.G. And it would go JUST like this. A group of kids, all white, would be sitting at a booth and the Biggie track would come on and they'd all stand up, like "Ohhhh shit! It was all a dream..." 4 bars later, most of the crew would put their head down, but someone would inevitably know the rest of the verse. As soon as the person rapping was finished, all their friends would applaud and give them high-fives, like as if their homie had laid the track down first and Biggie had just been doing a cover. You know how many times I watched the opposite happen? How many times I watched the black cats sing all the words to "Sweet Caroline" and meet the applause of their friends? None. Absolutely zero. And there in lies the issue. White people can adopt little chunks of black culture that make them feel cool, but black folks can't do the same. Anytime black people want to jump into an arena that has been all white, we're met with resistance from the white folks and seen as traitors by black folks. That is not ok. It simply isn't. I'm not writing my opinions on this because I'm angry with any particular white person. Nor will I ever ask a white person to take their locks out, because that is not my hair. And honestly, black folks, we have so many more important things to worry about than some wannabe hippies unintentionally offending us. But, I do think there is a lot of confusion on this subject, so I wanted to share my opinions. I am not representative of any person other than myself, but hopefully my insight helps shed some light on how others might be feeling as well. There is no one way to feel about anything. But if we listen more and share more, hopefully, we can come to understanding.
