Soul Rebels: The Rastafari
...ally of the elite class, or of the oppressors, the mulatto class makes up the smaller middle class, and is more tolerated by the Rastafari than the whites, and finally you have the blacks or Jamaica who are typically in poverty, but they also contribute the largest numbers to the Rastafarian movement. In the Rastafarian culture, race and class usually go hand in hand, although minor exceptions can be made as they were with Lewis. Gender is also a way the Rastafarians discriminate. Women are not equal in the sense they are equal in other western societies. Women are seen and not heard, and are only used for “pickneys” (babies). This is very interesting as women are no where equal to men, however the Rastas supposedly support equality for all. However in their eyes women may be seen as equal, but having a different role than their male counterparts. Finally, we come to the superstructure of Rastafarian society. The Rastafarian view on institutionalized religion is also very excluding. The religions of the west are shunned and seen as oppressive and wrong. Rastas are allegedly atheist; however they hold Jah, or Haile Selassie I as a messiah who would help them repatriate to Africa. They claim their wisdom comes from inside themselves, and use ritual reasoning sessions while smoking ganja to help further their goals. Their mission is to “reason” with outsiders and try to convince them of Rastafarianism, and to tell them the evils of Babylon and its religions. Their disdain of religion is most intense with Christianity, where the Pope is viewed as Satan, and all who follow him are being guided by the devil—not the way of Jesus Christ. The ways of the Rastafari diametrically oppose those of Jamaica. Jamaican philosophy on economics is currently split between capitalist and socialist factions. The country is slowing industrializing, and torn on which system to embrace. The People’s National Party is supporting socialism for the state, while the Jamaican Labour Party leans towards capitalism. The state of Jamaica is beginning to globalize though, so the tide of capitalism may be inevitable. The Jamaican working class is closer to the views of the Rastafari, and tends to be more socialist in their views, while the middle and upper class, as well as the state tend to want to capitalize. This internal struggle in Jamaican politics is not a major concern though to the working class as they are just trying to survive. The working class tends to be black in an overwhelming majority, and their view on race and class is similar to those of the Rastafari. Race is a very clear distinction in Jamaican society, and clearly defined roles are held for each race. A majority of the lower class is Catholic or Protestant, the religion brought over from English colonization. Many of the lower class is also Rastafarian, as their movement, symbolism, and value system is very appealing to the peasantry of Jamaica. In fact, almost all Rastafarians are from the lower class of Jamaica. The middle class described in Soul Rebels inhabit a town named Pierpoint. The middle class tend to differ drastically than the working c...