Research Institute for the Study of Man | |
The Earth Most Strangest Man: The Rastafarian by Mortimo Planno | |
The Ras Tafari cult is unique, but it is not seditious. Its adherents have, and
should continue to have freedom to preach it. Their demand for freedom of movement
is wholly justifiable.
The public should cease to believe that all Ras Tafari brethren conform to a stereotype.
Those Ras Tafarians who advertise themselves by wearing beards or the dreadlocks
are shunned by the general public. They have difficulty obtaining work. In every
part of the world, including Africa, people who insist on looking different from
their fellow men tend to be persecuted by their fellow men. This is not a justification
for persecution. The public should learn to recognise that religious people have
a right to wear their hair long if they wish to do so.
Some teachers cut the hair of Ras Tafari children so the parents react by keeping
the children away from school Some of these parents are asking for special shools
for their children. There is a much simpler remedy: The Minister of Education should
prohibit teachers from cutting the hair of children without their parent's permission.