THE EDITOR, Madam:
IN RESPONSE to Ms. Fawcett's letter regarding the killing of the nun and burning of the persons in the cathedral in Castries, St. Lucia, I have several questions. What is her definition of Ras Tafari? What does she know about the men who orchestrated this atrocious act? What does she have against practitioners of the Ras Tafarian faith? Not everyone with knotted hair (locks) are Ras Tafarians. There are a lot of mentally incapacitated people roaming the streets of Jamaica who sport a 'locked' hairstyle but should not be considered as Rastas.
True Rastas are loving people. Rastas denounce the shedding of blood and taking of lives to the extent they refuse to eat meat. How many sane people do you know that actually hear the voice of God talking to them from caves and act upon the instructions of the voices.
Blaming Capleton and other entertainers for their "fire bun" lyrics is inappropriate. A lot of people do not agree with the lyrics of Capleton songs but wasn't it the Christians who first extol that anyone who disobeyed their preachings would be burned in hell fire? Was Capleton the one accusing people of being witches and burning them at stakes? The Rastas burning of fire is their way of saying the ills of society need to be cleansed. What does the use or legalisation of marijuana have to do with the cold and callous acts of two or more mentally challenged individuals?
How could Mr. Hamilton in his quest to preserve the religious rights of Ras Tafarians have prevented such a dastardly act? Mr. Hamilton is not in his position to defend Rastas but to protect all the under-privileged in our society. Maybe if there was a Mr. Hamilton in Castries then these men would be in the appropriate facilities instead of being at the whims of society hence doing what they did. The right intervention by the right sources could have prevented it. The question now is: what are we going to do to prevent history from repeating itself? Finger-pointing is not the solution.
One last suggestion. Get to know some Rastas, talk with them, listen to their views (on religion, people politics, sports) and you'll be surprised what you have in common with them.
I am etc.,
RICHARD WALKER
E-mail:
www.dred24@hotmail.com
1249 Hyde Park Ave
Hyde Park, Ma.
U.S.A
Via Go-Jamaica
