Lecture 7.5.4 - Chapter 32: White Ice, White Players
Lecture Overview
In this lecture, we are going to review Chapter 31 before starting Chapter 32.
Review
Chapter 31: Saul’s talents lead his team to compete in other matches around the country—against white teams that previously refused to play against an Indigenous team. This suggests that the spirit of competition allows people to look past their racial prejudices momentarily. As before, Saul is able to bounce back from adversity and use the experience to become a better athlete. In this painful passage, it’s implied that the reason for the aggression of the white Ontarians is that Saul and his teammates win their game. Thus, the racist townspeople’s behavior isn’t simply a reflection of their racism—it’s a reflection of their embarrassment at having been beaten by people they regard as inferior in every way. The townspeople are so committed to this viewpoint that, rather than taking their defeat as an opportunity to reevaluate their prejudices, they instead resort to brutal violence to assert their dominance.