While i would disagree how persons who are decidely anti Rastafari/antiAfrica represent issues such as rastafari, Africa and Haile Selassie, i believe that people should not dwell in the bondage of blind faith and what is given to you, but do one's own research and operate from one's direct experiences as much as possible.

Respecting someone doesn't entail doing everything that person said or did especially without understanding the context/circumstances involved. Sometimes truth can challenge deeply imbedded notions that exist in the mainstream. Dealing with people's belief is a delicate task, and people's right to belief should be emphasized and advocated. At the same time, people also have a right to information, that would allow them to make the best possible decision. Although i have always respected the role Selassie played, i do not seek to do evverything that he did, and i do not agree with all the things he said. This is especially so in terms of his thoughts of the bible, and his diplomatic opinion of the Pope and the time. Even those that most say that they follow and subscribe to all the words of Selassie won't have the same opinion of the Pope that Selassie did. Selassie said that he considered the pope to be a good man.

Furthermore, because Selassie ate meat (chicken, pork or whatever), does that mean that i should? NO!!! I won't condemn him for making his choice but i also have my choice to make based upon my experiences.

I think the crux of the issue is about examining ourselves critically and understanding why we do this, why we think like this. Are we just following the crowd, or are our beliefs stemming from our direct experiences.

While i am not a blind follower of Selassie, i wouldn't go to the other extreme that many anto-rastas/anti-africans have gone to, in bashing him at every opportunity. Oone extreme leads to another, and both are just as bad as far as i am concerned. As Yan alluded to, the truth for me lies somewhere in the middle between the exremes.
I advocate that people seek to be leaders of themselves by exploring the nature of their own divinity. One of the pitfalls of modern religion (that Rastafari should avoid) is that God is removed from ourselves and our evveryday experiences and wrapped up in this mystical cloak of confusion. Heaven is preached to only be experiences when one dies and one is encouraged to place blind trust in a man that died two thousand years ago. Heaven can be achieved in this lifetime on earth, and we can Christs (God conscious) by doing the necessary hard nitty gritty work on ourselves.