if you're white and you have dreads, don't go to jamaica- you'll get killed. the truth of the mater is, dreadlocks are a deeply cultural tradition which, in a way, is being appropriated by subcultures in the white community- where it doesnt mean as much as it does to rastafarians. furthermore, the traditional idea behing dreadlocks was a complete rejection of concern over your appearance- a refusal to comb or wash or try to tame already nappy, african-american hair. this neglect resulted in dreadlocks. for a white person to process their hair into these forms on purpose, as a purely aesthetic style, can be offensive to some people. it's a tricky subject, and not necesarily a reason to not lock up if you're sure that its what you want, but something to be aware of. In my opinion, the phenomenon of elements of cultural heritage morphing into other things and new meaningsis absolutely inevitable in a globallizing world, but you need to understand why some people would consider the trend of white kids with dreads a "watered down" version of something deeply important and spiritual to someone else.

If you go to africa with your locks (or at least to any of the countries I've been to) you will instantly have friends calling you over with a 'hey rasta!'.