“Equality is the soul of liberty; there is, in fact, no liberty without it.” ~ Frances Wright.

I was a teenager, going to high school in rural Jamaica, when Bob Marley and the Wailers became the face of Rastafarianism.  The sect emerged in the 1930s, combining elements of predominantly Old Testament teachings and African pride and culture along with the teachings of Marcus Garvey, but was largely despised by Jamaican society at the time.  With their uncut ‘dreadlocks’ (they followed the Nazarite vow not to cut their hair) they appeared scary (dread), but they were a peaceful sect who followed strict dietary restrictions, avoided alcohol, and looked to Ethiopia for their Messiah.

Bob forced people to look at Rastas differently.  He made the look fashionable, while not deviating from the religious practices.  In the 70s, Rastafarian linguistic swerves permeated popular dialect.  They referred to themselves as ‘I-man’, the unsalted, meatless meals they ate were ‘I-tal’ (vital for health, with the emphasis on the individual).  Their language was positive, never negative, so words like ‘backwards’ were not to be used.  Instead, they would ‘forward’ to wherever they were going.  It has since developed further.  Hate (too negative) could not be included in the word appreci-ate, so that became ‘appreshi-love’.  Bob’s songs crossed over to popular music, but continued to carry a strong message, including conscious ‘woke’ lyrics.  His music even motivated countries in Africa.  The band was invited to perform at Zimbabwe’s Official Independence Celebrations. 

After Bob and the original Wailers split up, Peter Tosh recorded his own songs, including the powerful message that declared that he didn’t want peace, he wanted ‘Equal rights, and justice’.  These songs were echoing the growing call in the USA for equal rights, for ‘Black Power’, to continue the work started by Martin Luther King Jr. to build a more equitable nation.

It is discouraging to realize that the advances made by decades of civil rights activists can be wiped out by executive orders.  In Philadelphia recently, at the ‘President’s House’ Museum, the exhibit on the role of slavery was removed.  Fortunately the city went to court, and a Federal Judge ordered it to be replaced.  I had to laugh recently when I heard that a Judge ‘rebuked’ the administration for other acts which were deemed unconstitutional.  The word ‘rebuke’ seems so Biblical.  It reminded me of a patient I had cared for in the Emergency Room many years ago, an older, African American woman, who, when she saw the Physician coming towards her with implements of a life-saving variety, she yelled loudly: ‘I ‘buke you! In the name of Jesus!’ She had to be calmed down before she believed he was not coming to harm her.

I have been thinking of the word ‘patriarchy’ recently, after reading an article which suggested that this is the explanation for the entitlement of wealthy white men and their exploitation of vulnerable females (as in the Epstein case).  My experience in the healthcare field certainly began in a very patriarchal model.  Doctors (mostly male at the time) knew best, and made the decisions for the patients, in their best interest of course.  Or was it?  I remembered the Irish lady who had lung cancer.  In the tradition of the time the physicians had notified her husband of her diagnosis and prognosis first.  When I came into her room she was spitting fire, mad as hell! How dare the doctors tell her husband, she demanded.  Now he was a blabbering mess, and she was the one who was having to reassure him, to get him better, when she was the one with the disease! ‘If they’d have told me first, I would have known how to tell him.  Now look at him!’ Thankfully, healthcare ethics has come a long way since then, now patients are given autonomy, full disclosure is an expectation.  The preferred model is one of ‘collegiality’, where healthcare providers and patients are supposed to share in decision making, to be colleagues in the healthcare journey.  I am sure we still have a long way to go.

But could patriarchy be the root of much of our societal woes?  Especially when the model is also built on White male patriarchy.  In one article that I read, based on the infamous emails, it appeared that Epstein (who was able to steer funds towards Science and Research) demanded that female scientists should be excluded from a conference on AI. “John, the old conferences did not care about diversity. I suggest you not either. The women are all weak, and a distraction sorry.” (the grammatical errors are his, by the way). The women that he wanted removed from the program had actually contributed to a crucial book on AI.  But in Epstein’s world they were mere ‘distractions’.

If I am benefiting from a system, but others are not, why should I want anything to change?  There was a punchline to an old joke (I only know the punchline!) ‘I’m alright, Jack, I’m in the dinghy’ – the suggestion being that a ship was going down, but the speaker wasn’t worried, since he was already in the lifeboat.  It appears that in the current state of the nation, those who are in the dinghies are convinced that all is well with the world.  They and their amassed wealth are safe.

I remember, early in my own marriage, when I was upset at some patriarchal statement my husband had made, I threatened him ‘you wait till women rule the world’.  He took me seriously, and gently (patronizingly?) explained that when the oppressed take over, they will not then oppress their former rulers, they will set up an egalitarian society.  But that’s not fair, I responded.  When is it our turn? Perhaps that is why White Supremacists are so married to their position in society, they fear that those who have been traditionally oppressed (or ‘down-pressed’, in Rasta parlance, since it is more accurate than the misleading ‘up-pressed’!) will, once they have power, turn around and mete the same treatment on their former ‘down-pressers’!

I do believe that we need more poets, artists, musicians, writers, actors, to tell the stories, to show the experiences of those our current leaders are trying to ‘otherize’.  The history of this world is not a pretty one, but if we ignore the lessons of the past we risk repeating them.  Although the Epstein scandal is hard to read about, to think about the exploitation of young, vulnerable females may be more than we can handle, if we don’t understand how easily he operated with the complicity of powerful men and institutions, we leave the door open for others to do the same.  And if it is the system which needs to be changed (Bob coined the term ‘sh*t-stem’), then it is time we demanded change. 

In his song Babylon system, Bob called for telling the children the truth, and perhaps this is where we have to focus, on pouring the cleansing light on the truth.  Not an officially sanctioned version of history, with crucial books banned and exhibits removed.  In an age of dis- and mis-information, let us tell the truth, and share it widely.

Have a wonderful weekend, Family!

One Love, always!

Namaste.