dreadlock discrimination?

I showed my week old back-combed dreadies at work and I work a coorporate job in an office, I showed it to one co-worker then the rest of the day other curious co-workers came by to look at them. I work in a biology company, my manager even admited that he was always tempted to get his hair blue but wouldn't have the courage.

 

Sorry this is kinda long...

I just got my dreads 2 months ago yesterday and I live in Hong Kong - I was kinda worried about the reaction of people there, they are a little narrow minded and usually ignore anyone one looking different or just stare and I'm a teacher. LOL!!!
Luckily I teach DRAMA & I teach freelance for several companies in lots of different schools and have a very good rep in several schools so I figured it'd be ok. I have been REALLY surprised people now smile at me on the street, people come up to me and ask me about my hair (HK people don't usually even acknowledge each other - they just bump into you and ignore you. I've only seen about 3 people in HK with dread in about 3 years so it's quite rare. And Chinese collegues have commented that they make me look younger ...ha ha ha ha....

I was especially worried these past months because I've been traveling alot through many airports and I'm absolutely clean - I don't and never have done drugs - but I guess the look is reknown for "you must be a pothead".

SO I flew into Manila, Phillipenes - a security guard asked us where we're from and what we did for jobs and we chatted about his family for a few mins and went on through & on the way back to HK I was walking into the airport in Manila and saw a security guard staring at me with his big gun on his hip...I got nervous as I walked towards him he broke into a huge grin and said, WOW, great hair!! LOL!!! All through the airport in Manila we just had people coming up to us asking about my hair and chatting and then we got sent through the VIP line at immigration - I was carrying my bass guitar - perhaps they thought I was a rockstar or something!!!! HA ha ha ....I also flew into Malaysia and Indonesian and Thailand in the last 2 months and absolutely NO problems with anyone anywhere, just friendly faces and lots of compliments. I'm in Bali right now and loads of Balinese guys & girls have dreads - so I guess this is the place to find a loctician and get them tided before I get back to work!!

I can't believe you guys have so many probs with cops etc...Move to Asia you're free to live your life the way you want to and nobody bothers you.

Jac...

 

well you've only had em for 2 months...I guarantee you will have some kind of encounter with cops eventually.

 

I let you know...

 

I happened to be out on a friday night, not anything to do with the underage drinking thing, I wasnt going partying or anything just walking back from my mates house, completely sober and clean, I had my tam on with some of my dreads sticking out the back to keep my neck warm
This community support officer (no power!) and a regular policeman, walk towards me head on, I tried and swerve around them from about 10 metres away, but they just kept in my path!
They stop me and ask me if i've been drinking, I answer no as I hadnt been at all, then asked me whether I was under the influence of any narcotics, I answer no as I hadnt been at all, they then ask me to put my hands against the wall and frisk me, as he didnt believe my response about narcotics, he checked my pockets after asking whether I had any needles or sharp objects, he proceeded to search my hair! At which point I objected but he continued to accuse me, so I let him continue!
To cut the story short, he found nothing, he apologised for the wait, I asked for his badge number and name.
He was sacked 3 weeks later after several people made complaints, in similar circumstances.
I love Karma
/|\ Peace of the Grove
Alex

 

Yeah Manila is a great place for people with dreadlocks, not a single day goes by without a person asking about my dreads. Ive had a lot of people break into Bob Marley songs when I walk by (just now on my way to work).
The cops are a different story though, my wife made me promise not to bring weed anymore because of the cops, before I would bring my little stash can everywhere.

 

The police in the Philippines are among the most corrupt in the world. Its a fact. PIGS!

 

hahA!!! great story man...guess he got what he deserved for harrassing innocent civilians. if that had been me, I would have kept walking directly in the same path so that they would have to walk around me!

 

Yeah i am originally from NYC where profiling is an art form especially after 9/11 :banghead: I do not miss the NYPD. or the NYC for that matter

But, what I am posting about is quote above. I have locks, and I am a hippie, and yes I smoke pot. I am not dirty... well other than I walk around barefoot...lol. I just think a stereotype said in that context is just as bad quoted as is said.... just IMHO.

 

ye, real authentic pigs! with big bellies too! must've been the loot. haha.

manila - philippines, with the fast paced lifestyle, nobody wants get their hair done naturally. hehe. everywhere i looked, its all back combed. haha. anyway, lets just hope they wont end up shaving, with their heavy use of wax, o man ive always want ta chat with people with dreads and get loads of info, and giving them more too. one person, a good friend of mine, dont even know baking soda as a cleaning agent for his dreads, he has 20 stalks of nice extended dreads(real nice and thick, a star indeed) but i doubt its strength cuz he always crochet it(poking it almost always so as to tighten it, i tried to halt this but he didnt listen. haha). anyway, i may havent yet got that perfect dreads but im more "informed" i guess, and lets just see how things will work out for me, i love my progression though. im planning to have real thin dreads like 50 or more segments. so i rip those who congo up everyu once in a while. hehe.

-my extensive shit, da

 

ye, real authentic pigs! with big bellies too! must've been the loot. haha.

manila - philippines, with the fast paced lifestyle, nobody wants get their hair done naturally. hehe. everywhere i looked, its all back combed. haha. anyway, lets just hope they wont end up shaving, with their heavy use of wax, o man ive always want ta chat with people with dreads and get loads of info, and giving them more too. one person, a good friend of mine, dont even know baking soda as a cleaning agent for his dreads, he has 20 stalks of nice extended dreads(real nice and thick, a star indeed) but i doubt its strength cuz he always crochet it(poking it almost always so as to tighten it, i tried to halt this but he didnt listen. haha). anyway, i may havent yet got that perfect dreads but im more "informed" i guess, and lets just see how things will work out for me, i love my progression though. im planning to have real thin dreads like 50 or more segments. so i rip those who congo up everyu once in a while. hehe.

-my extensive shit, da

 

...

 

At 3 in the morning we got pulled over for having a head light out no prob. it was my friends stupidity for not realizing his head light was out... Duno how u cant tell but ne ways... we got pulled over and the cop said that he smelled it and we didnt smoke in the car so i dunno what he was smelling... he asked if he could search and of corse we said no and so then he brougt the dogs... my friend was in the frount seat w. a quarter on him and i was in the back w. a little in a air tight container in my purse and that was behind the passenger seat... The dog didnt smell my stuff got past me went smelled my friend smelled it... he asked us all to get out and went threw everything my one hitter was in my purse too and they put it on top of the car sent the dogs around all of us still didnt get my friends stuff that he smelled in the car it was in a pocket in his coat so while he was sitting in the car the dog could b.c it was right next to the window where the dog smelled but didnt smell it on him when he searched us individualy... Took my stuff put me in the car to get some info/ tell me that i actuallly got arested but he didnt cuff me or ne thing pretty nice guys... put my one hitter back and sent us on are way... Once done then we acompished what we went to do (got blunt wrap) and whent back and smoked... All in all assumed that we looked like pot heads (ding ding ding)... checked... took pot

 

sounds like a NYPD thing to do. are you in the city? man i dont miss them. they just wanted your weed. assholes

 

I've always thought myself to be pretty lucky when it comes to discrimination. The company I work for are very into equal ops and my bosses love my dreads. However about 6 weeks ago I needed to buy a lead for my German Shepherd as we've now gone through seven in the 6 months we've owned him. So I went to the pet store before work and bought a lead that was made from heavy chain links "he'll not break it" said the store owner.

So I'm walking to work with this lead in a plastic bag when I come across two community support officers. "Excuse me miss, can we see what's in the bag?" So I show them "I'm afraid we have to confiscate that lead as its an offensive weapon" Says them. Confused I say it's for my dog but they're not listening... So I tip my bag out infront of them and about 50 dog treats fall out of my bag from when I train him.

"See? They're for my dog. I'm sure if I wanted to beat the crap out of someone I'd do it at night instead of 9.30am? I also don't think that I'd have the mental capacity to buy dog treats to cover up my intentions if the lead was bought purely to beat the crap out of someone."

I doubt they'd want to see what's in the bag if I hadn't gotten dreads. They make a pardon I make my way to work 6 weeks later the lead is still intact and hasn't beaten the crap out of anyone.

 

on my road trip out west with my long haired hippy loverman, we got pulled over in oklahoma for thinking that the shoulder of the road was a turn lane, when it wasn't (it sure as hell looked like one to me!)

the cop took one look at us me dready, him long haired) and asked us to step out of the car. i asked why, and he said "we're doing a new crackdown on drugs, and we're randomly searching every 4 or 5 people." we had nothing in the car, nothing on us, so i said sure, whatever, search my damn car. he had us pull all our shit out (we had all kinds of shit in there, we were moving), he went through my bag (though i made sure i was right next to him when he did it or else he might have planted something... ) he must have asked about a thousand times about marijuana, needles, weapons, crackpipes, other various paraphrenalia.... it was fucked up. of course, he found nothing, and i felt better just knowing that his perceptions and discriminatory actions were completely unfounded. maybe next time he'll think twice about profiling dreadheads.

 

He won't....
they love to profile.
It's their pseudopsychology.
yuck

 

yeah, but you never know what kind of a difference you make on other people. even if he has to profile for his job, maybe he'll end up with a different personal opinion. you never know whose life you touch and/or change at any point in time!

 

word

 

my ex had locks and swore up and down that every single time he got pulled over it was because he had them and was always pissed because he got busted for weed "just because he had locks"

he did, however, get busted for weed every time he got pulled over, so maybe the indicator was working in this case, i dunno.

then driving across the country he bought a cowboy hat that could fit on his head... every time an officer came near he put it on, one time he got pulled over in Colorado and stuck the hat on, and the officer apparently "forgot" why he pulled him over. i dunno, he could be full of bull.

silly pigs...