Jordan grew up in a culture where playing in -40°C was normal and beating the living hell out of someone who disrespected you was second nature. When he started living with billet families he took this mentality with him; because that is how he was raised. Jordan fought with people on the ice, he was constantly slashing guys and dropping his gloves. Jordan fought in school when he experienced racism and big talkers who wanted to bully him. The idea to fight through every problem he has came from the environment he grew up in at Rankin Inlet and the family life he grew up in with alcoholic and abusive parents. He ended up finding out that life wasn’t the same outside of Rankin Inlet. When he went to play in Spruce grove he said himself “I ended up fighting a couple of guys, and all of the parents got wound up. After the game, I got a call telling me I was suspended for five games.” He eventually learned things were not as easy as they were back at home. Jordan had a very strong will to keep following the beliefs he had grown up with, to keep playing hockey how he had always played he; but he knew he had to change or he was never going to get anywhere. The outside world had rules and regulations and people are racist and biased. Being strong and a fighter are different than physically smashing anyone up that looks at you wrong. The beliefs of his past created his identity but the experiences of his past gave him the will to be a fighter; and to change and push forward in order to keep following his dream.
Friday, December 2, 2016
Why we Are the way we Are
One of the key ideas is to understand how family environment and traditions form the basis of our personal and national identity. In the book All The Way My Life on Ice by Jordan Tootoo we truly begin to understand that concept. The way you are raised and the environment you are raised around has a lasting impact on who you become. Jordan's parents were both alcoholics, it was a common disease plaguing Rankin Inlet. This caused Jordan and Terrance to believe that alcoholism was a normal thing. They constantly saw there parents getting drunk and so they never saw a problem with picking up a bottle and getting wasted.
Jordan grew up in a culture where playing in -40°C was normal and beating the living hell out of someone who disrespected you was second nature. When he started living with billet families he took this mentality with him; because that is how he was raised. Jordan fought with people on the ice, he was constantly slashing guys and dropping his gloves. Jordan fought in school when he experienced racism and big talkers who wanted to bully him. The idea to fight through every problem he has came from the environment he grew up in at Rankin Inlet and the family life he grew up in with alcoholic and abusive parents. He ended up finding out that life wasn’t the same outside of Rankin Inlet. When he went to play in Spruce grove he said himself “I ended up fighting a couple of guys, and all of the parents got wound up. After the game, I got a call telling me I was suspended for five games.” He eventually learned things were not as easy as they were back at home. Jordan had a very strong will to keep following the beliefs he had grown up with, to keep playing hockey how he had always played he; but he knew he had to change or he was never going to get anywhere. The outside world had rules and regulations and people are racist and biased. Being strong and a fighter are different than physically smashing anyone up that looks at you wrong. The beliefs of his past created his identity but the experiences of his past gave him the will to be a fighter; and to change and push forward in order to keep following his dream.
Jordan grew up in a culture where playing in -40°C was normal and beating the living hell out of someone who disrespected you was second nature. When he started living with billet families he took this mentality with him; because that is how he was raised. Jordan fought with people on the ice, he was constantly slashing guys and dropping his gloves. Jordan fought in school when he experienced racism and big talkers who wanted to bully him. The idea to fight through every problem he has came from the environment he grew up in at Rankin Inlet and the family life he grew up in with alcoholic and abusive parents. He ended up finding out that life wasn’t the same outside of Rankin Inlet. When he went to play in Spruce grove he said himself “I ended up fighting a couple of guys, and all of the parents got wound up. After the game, I got a call telling me I was suspended for five games.” He eventually learned things were not as easy as they were back at home. Jordan had a very strong will to keep following the beliefs he had grown up with, to keep playing hockey how he had always played he; but he knew he had to change or he was never going to get anywhere. The outside world had rules and regulations and people are racist and biased. Being strong and a fighter are different than physically smashing anyone up that looks at you wrong. The beliefs of his past created his identity but the experiences of his past gave him the will to be a fighter; and to change and push forward in order to keep following his dream.
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I love this, because it's true on a level that is soul deep.
ReplyDeleteJordin doesn't just think he's a fighter. He doesn't just scrap because that's the way things are done in city hockey. He doesn't fight to keep his head above water or defend himself.
He starts all of these fights. And it's not just because of a quick temper. He truly believes, in the very depths of his being, he believes that he is stronger than anyone who can oppose him. He doesn't fight to put people in their place like arrogant bullies do. He fights to put them in their rightful place like a wolf would in the wild. He was raised in one of the harshest climates there is. He was raised with older boys who never took it easy on him. He truly and utterly believes that strength is in his genetic make-up. He utterly and completely believes there is no option for him to be weak, especially when he's younger. Anyone that thinks he can be weak will be proven wrong. That's how he sees it. Eventually he comes to understand that he doesn't have to make it known to anyone who steps on his toes. But this mentality never goes away. I think that's a huge part of how he's able to make it through everything he does.
I love this, because it's true on a level that is soul deep.
ReplyDeleteJordin doesn't just think he's a fighter. He doesn't just scrap because that's the way things are done in city hockey. He doesn't fight to keep his head above water or defend himself.
He starts all of these fights. And it's not just because of a quick temper. He truly believes, in the very depths of his being, he believes that he is stronger than anyone who can oppose him. He doesn't fight to put people in their place like arrogant bullies do. He fights to put them in their rightful place like a wolf would in the wild. He was raised in one of the harshest climates there is. He was raised with older boys who never took it easy on him. He truly and utterly believes that strength is in his genetic make-up. He utterly and completely believes there is no option for him to be weak, especially when he's younger. Anyone that thinks he can be weak will be proven wrong. That's how he sees it. Eventually he comes to understand that he doesn't have to make it known to anyone who steps on his toes. But this mentality never goes away. I think that's a huge part of how he's able to make it through everything he does.