The Rasta movement defended smoking marijuana as they saw it promote clear-thinking. Thus, dreadlocks became associated with marijuana at some point. Many deadheads, mainly Caucasians, are pro-marijuana. Still, a few sects of Rastafarianism are against drug abuse. They view any mind-altering substance as “impure” with an emphasis on cleanliness. They also forbid red meat and drinking alcohol. Those purists hold that Bob Marley and his pro-marijuana attitude has harmed Rastafarianism’s reputation.
Bob, himself, was a Rastafarian. His dreadlocked style is what popularized the style in the mainstream. Shortly after, many other subcultures borrowed it. Dreadlocks spread across like wildfire, especially among:
New Agers.
Pagans.
Goths.
Cyber goths.
Hippies.
Vegans.
Dreadlocks became integrated to many musical styles, such as Metal and Hip Hop.
Today, dread heads chose to wear their hair in dreads for a multitude of reasons. Some of them wear dreadlocks for spiritual reasons as described earlier. Some of them identify as Rastas. Some because they simply love the look!
Remember, having a reason for wearing dreadlocks is very important. So that one day when somebody asks you, “yes, but why you wear them?” You can give them a straight answer and explain what your dreads mean to you.
Post written by Seymour Willis, who is also a frequent contributor to Credit Glory (where we teach you to improve your credit score!)