Ras Alcohol in da houz!

Ras Alcohol!

Lately i've seen few idren to refer to 'ras alcohol' when they talk about people or rasses who drink - in degregating way. And well, i have no shame to admit that i like to drink beer and occasionally something stronger too. So this topic had me thinking of how I see the mighty alcohol.

First, i know what alcohol does to people and it aint pretty. Of which, im sure, most of you know it too. My mother is drunkard, so was my uncle. I used to drink quite heavily when i was yute. But at some point i stopped consumption of all alcohol based products,  including vinegar and fermented products. That phase lasted around 6 or 7 years during which i didnt even willingly socialize with anyone who was drunk. It was abomination to the I. But them something changed...

One of the reasons why i quit was the feeling that i was not in control of myself when intoxicated. If someone was suggesting  something stupid, i was the first one to jump into a well. I had no control of what i said and well, i did not like myself when i was drunken. But things change and now i know my limits and i know how to behave. And i've come to realize alot about alcohol, and people too.

I see that people are not really aware of themselves, drunken or sober. Ordinary people are just passengers in vehicle called there lifes. Even "good people" are like that. Autopilot is in full control and when you pour wrong kind of gasoline to the engine, accidents are bound to happen.

For the I, rastafari trod is about self improvement thru guidance of the most high God. Jah Rastafari! Part of Self improvement is evaluation of the I. Consciousness of I's actions. Realizing this, i have now a newly found fate that i can 'hold my liquer'. Im not passenger anymore. But i also need to point out that this self improvement isnt because i need to drink or to justify my habbit.

But then, weed is also a mind altering substance. It can mess up your life as much as beer too. In this perspective, my personal belief is that no substance is evil by its own definition. Only rationale - to justify not to drink - in this topic is bingi tradition and what the I holds as a moral truth. And  when you extend your own decizions to others, its a question of how you treat your bredrins.

What we really need is to actually learn to respect other people before burning the  fire. Their decisions are their's, our's ours.

Jah Nuh Dead

I got a riddim cd last week from I bredrins called Temppeli up from Jyväskylä, Finland.  I've been listening to the tunes for every day now and one thing's for sure. Matti Kauhu, Heikki Acid Root & Ras Shemi will do some serious uplifting in roots scene when they start to publish their music. Its just that excellent.

So I've been writing some lyrics to the tunes and noticed i got some heavy vibes from Burning Spear. Here's something to share so far:

Jah Nuh DeadJah Nuh Dead
Jah Nuh Dead
Jah Nuh Dead
Jah Jah Live On
In The Hearts
In The Hearts and Minds of Man
Who Walk the Righterous Road
With the Bible in His Hand
Jah Nuh Dead
Jah Nuh Dead
Jah Nuh Dead
Jah Nuh Dead
Jah Jah Live On
In the Thoughts
In the Works and Thoughts of Sistren
Who Hail the King of Creation
Again and again and again

And last thing, i've seen few websites with certain text in the past too but this morning i got a link to a site i havent visited before.  If you havent had the opportunity to read the early writings of rastafari movement, you can do it right now by clicking on title below the book covers:

The Wisdom Of Rastafari - "by Rastafarian Group" 

The Holy Piby - Robert Athlyi Rogers

The Royal Parchment Scroll Of Black Supremacy

Fitz Balintine Pettersburgh

 

The Promised Key - G.G. Maragh

Isä meidän ja ne muut.

Quick apology about the language first. Matter revolves around translations and Finnish so thats what im going for too.


Lainaus Isä meidän - rukouksesta

anna meille meidän syntimme anteeksi,

niin kuin mekin anteeksi annamme niille,

jotka ovat meitä vastaan rikkoneet.

Ja perään tiukka kysymys:

Jos me annamme anteeksi meitä kohtaan rikkoneille, miksi me anomme anteeksi antoa Jumalalta synneistämme? "Me" sanalla tarkoitan tässä kollektiivista Suomen jumalaa pelkäävää ev.lut. tapakristitty.

Eikö rikkeemme toisia kohtaan ole syntiä ? Entä "ne muut" ja "heidän rikkeet".

Gay issue

After the work today, i picked up a new issue of City magazine that had an article about Akuliina Saarikoski. She's titled as "Finland's most famour activist". And attention whore (pun intended) as i am, i wanted to write a small piece about the things i started to think.

Well, for starters, it goes without saying that "majority" of people consider Rastafari as homophobic. Names like Peter Tatchell made that a "world wide news" when he started his compain against "murder music" and went after the likes of Buju Banton, Sizzla & Capleton. So, i must be a phobic too right? Outright false accusation if you ask me.  My personal take on the matter is that i don't absolutely any interest of what is happening within your and your family, bedroom, officeplace or where ever. Its your business and mine's mine. So what's the deal then ? Back to Akuliina's interview with few chosen quotes (bolds are questions presented and 'scuse if i didnt succeed in translation)

Why having an  hetero culture offends you ? 
Hetero culture's idea is to assimilate all abnormalities into itself. At this time, only accepted way of living  is to model the hetero family model: 2 adults, row house, dog, kid or two.

To what extend, government can affect people's sexuality?
 .... (Love) Partnerships should be agreement between people, not between people and government. Problems start only when other partner is significantly in lower position than the other. For example, this happen other partner is very young and almost always between a man and a woman.

If i would draw a conclusion of what is being said here, she's opposing a partnership between  man and woman because the hetero culture is trying to assimilating all that is different and make it acceptable in the eyes of other heteros.  So, what is the alternative ? Have gays to be what they want to be. I fully support this sort of thing, its basicly a struggle for a freedom. But then, Akuliina goes on defining that partnership between man and woman is "allmost always a cause of problems" and that is her attack vector to demolish hetero culture. She talk's about converting people to gay culture.

And thats where i personally draw the line. Maybe its the vibe laid down by the interviewer but i get the feeling from the interview that Akuliina's (and possible other gay activists) view is that all hetero sexuals are stereotypicly a single minded entity that does not accept alternative way of living and love and thus she feels that she has a right to use same tactics as hetero culture. Assimilate and integrate.  And this is the exact reason why "i have problem with gays". But bare with me, i openly admit that what i just wrote, is a stereotypic view of a hetero sexual man. My wife might think otherwise but atleast i do think that our communion is working one, problems we have are between a Partner and a Partner, not between a man and a woman.  What we do, what we look like, who we decide to support and who we dispice are based on the actions and words of said person. His or her sexuality excluded. Maybe it's a privilege of being so well integrated into heterosexual culture?

Same time, different media. One blogger wrote about city of Helsinki's instructions on how to prevent racism. He quotes part of these instructions about how to identify a racism.

Racism in all its forms is prohibited in all city functions. Racism is a ideology that divides people on basis of their race and/or  culture unto different groups.

Its questinable if this definition of racism valid if culture is taken into consideration on this subject. Think about, if you define a culture, its already a "division of people".  Maybe you have opion about that, do share *wink* *wink*.  But the reason why i wanted to drag that matter into "Gay Issue" is quite obvious, atleast to me ;) So, lets iterate it once more:

Racism divides people into groups on basic of their race or culture.

What it is then, when gay activist declares that hetero that Women and Men together are a problem to start with and such behaviour should be destroyed thru acts of terror (on Akuliina's behalf, she makes it clear that such stamement was just populist, not a real treat against hetero couples). Maybe she's right but the angle Saarikoski is using is as revolting to me as any downpressor racist, fundamentalist or terrorist.  What she's quilty of in my eyes: grouping of people with non-heterosexual values into something that is a better human being compared to those of us that are heteros. In my eyes, she's as guilty as any homophobic of the same segregation of people into different groups.

This Is Way I Hate Gays.

Dennis Brown, Crown Prince Of Reggae, In Memoriam

Ten years ago, on 1st of July, 1999, Dennis Emmanual Brown lost his life  and world lost one of the most successfull and prolific reggae icons.  Without the likes of him and Bob Marley, i doupt the the penetration of reggae music wouldn't be what it is today. Where Bob's lyrics where slightly more easier for the western people, Dennis walked his own path delivering lovers tunes and rootical vibes praising the allmighty Jah Rastafari (personal opinion, feel free to disagree). 

These days, we see lots of fussing and fighting, even amongst the rastafari and new barriers and walls are being build everyday. In that contrast, a meditation from DEB is in order:

No man is an island
No man stands alone
Treat each man as your brother
Remember each man’s dream as your own

Even thou i'm a day late, i setup a collaborative playlist on Spotify to share his works. If you have spotify account, feel free to drop by and listen the tracks and if you have anything to add into the list, please do so.

Bro Joseph, your legacy shall live on! Rastafari.