Avetisian 1

David Avetisian
English 113B
Professor Koning
2 April 2014
The Importance of Solidarity
As the years pass by, I mature and learn, I get older and wiser, I've seen and experienced
how social classes work around me and it makes me wonder what social class I am in. My
parents came from Armenia and started out in America with literally nothing. Life was really
hard for them and they had many struggles they had to face together in fight for the American
dream they had. My parents went from nothing to owning their own house, cars, two kids, and a
golden retriever, the American dream was fulfilled. As I grew up I faced some of the struggles
with them but we did not thrive to success alone, we had help, there was solidarity between a
rich family and us. The rich family were long-distant relatives that helped my family by giving
us a place to stay for a very affordable price until we got things under control. I place my family
in the middle class now, and my goal is to climb that ladder up to the rich class and start to help
those in need, because I know how much that help could impact a families future, even if that
help is really minor. Standing in solidarity with those in need, could really change the lives of
most people for the better, sharing is caring and that will significantly impact our world and
societies for the best.
While most people think that talking about social class or even considering it as being
important is not the right thing to do, they're wrong. Social class is one of the most substantial
and valuable aspects of our society, and we need to figure out a way to save it. Social class has
been a real issue lately and bell hooks talks about this in her book called Class Matters. Bell
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hooks talks about how class segregation is slowly occurring and what we should do to stop it.
We should try to stand in solidarity with each and every class, the poor, middle, and rich class.
We need to build and have unity with each other to become a better and stronger society. Before
our very eyes class-segregation is coming closer and closer to reality, and we need to do
everything in our power to sustain and cease it.
Solidarity and charity to most people mean the same thing, but they have two different
meanings. Solidarity is when people come together and unite as one equally, whereas charity is
when someone donates to the ones in need but they do not unite as one equally, they are still
separate and different. Bell hooks' book Class Matters was written for one main purpose, that
purpose was to try and help make a difference when it came to social class, for example class
segregation. Class segregation has been slowing occurring in our country and everywhere else
around the world but the key way of stopping it is standing in solidarity. We need to stop being
selfish and greedy and stop sharing and caring more for the poor and those who are in need. To
stand in solidarity with the poor people must be willing to give up a lot of the pleasures and also
change they entire lifestyles to live equally and simple just as most of the poor people do.
Therefore standing in solidarity with all classes is really important to do.
"To stand in solidarity with the poor is no easy gesture at a time when individuals of all
classes are encouraged to fear for their economic well-being. Certainly the fear of being
taken advantage of by those in need has led many people with class privilege to turn their
backs on the poor. As the gap between rich and poor intensifies in this society, those
voices that urge solidarity with the poor are often drowned out by mainstream
conservative voices that deride, degrade, and devalue the poor . . . we need a concerned
left politics that continues to launch powerful critique of the ruling class groups even as it
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also addresses and attends to the issues of strategic assault and demoralization of the
poor, a politics that can effectively intervene on class warfare" (hooks p. 46).
Standing in solidarity is certainly not an easy task or an easy decision to make, especially for the
rich. The rich have a bunch of wealth and are standing on the top of the mountain, and for them
to just come down from that mountain and be standing in unity equally with the poor is just a
joke for them. Most of the richer class believe that they don't have to worry or care for the poor
because everyone is on their own, especially in America. Class warfare is occurring and it will
only get worse by the second if we don't put a stop to this, but there are many reasons why
putting a stop to this isn't the easiest thing to do. There is also a lot of fear for standing in
solidarity with the poor for both the rich and the poor. They are scared and concerned that the
poor will only use them since they are wealthy and they won't care for who they are as people
but for what they have. The poor on the other hand, are scared that the rich will take advantage
of them because they are poor and have no power and no voice. Therefore this all creates even
more problems that need to be solved before we can even agree to the fact that standing in
solidarity is the right thing to do, it's the way to solve and stop class segregation.
Hooks talks about how the rich keep getting richer, and the poor keep getting poorer, by
this hooks is trying to say there needs to be more equality in the way people are treated, and also
that there needs to be solidarity with the poor and the rich. In order for this to happen there needs
to be trust and respect between the rich and the poor. To stand in solidarity for both the poor and
the rich there needs to be unity within both the social classes. The rich should not be scared to be
taken advantage of by the poor, and the poor should not criticize the rich just because they have
the wealth, there certainly is a solution and it has to be solved. As much as racism hurts America,
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the real problem is classism because there are a lot more disagreements, arguments, hatreds, and
separations between people nowadays because of classism rather than racism.
Living simply is another way to stop class segregation because it takes commitment and
determination to do so. Living simply has a lot to do with social class and it also has an effect on
changing and making the world a better place. Living simply has a lot to do with social classes
because in order to live simply you must be committed and determined to give up a lot and be
willing to live with the things the lower class does on a everyday basis. Living simply for the
rich is one of the hardest things to do because of the greediness, selfishness, hedonistic
consumerism, and material longing. There is also fear of being taken advantage of for both the
rich and the poor. The rich think that they are chosen to be wealthy so they must stay that way.
They work hard so they have what they have, why share its unfair for the rich to share just
because they have a lot. The rich think that being with the poor makes them look poor and
devalues their well-being, the rich want to be richer and richer while the poor keep getting
poorer. All of these issues need to be taken seriously and we need to make a change as soon as
we possibly can. Classism has been one of the more substantial issues of our society and it is
important that we take a stand make a difference.
Significantly, while the uncaring rich and powerful, especially those in control of
government, big business, and mass media, were and are at the forefront of campaigns to
place all accountability for poverty on the poor and to equate being poor with being
worthless, lots of other non-wealthy citizens have allied themselves with these groups . . .
It has served their class interests to perpetuate the notion that the poor are mere parasites
and predators. And, of course, their greed has set up a situation where many people must
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act in a parasitic manner in order to meet basic needs the need for food, clothing, and
shelter (hooks p. 45)
The greediness and selfishness of the rich being uncaring should come to a stop. The poor are
being viewed at worthless and there are lots of non-wealthy citizens who categorize themselves
with these groups of rich and uncaring people. The rich class views the poor as mere parasites
and predators, and their greed has created a situation for the poor where they sometimes have to
be parasites or predators to survive and meet the basic needs, for example to get food, clothing
and shelter, to just live simply they have to do what they do because of the rich being greedy
In conclusion, we must take a stand and we must stand in solidarity because it is the key
to fix this mess that we're in. The rich and the poor are both equal and human at the end of the
day, so why shouldn't there be solidarity between them both? We need to fight and stop class
segregation once and for all before it takes over and splits this world up for good. There needs to
be peace and unity between the people of this world because together we are stronger and wiser
and together we can reach greater heights. Social class has been on its downfall lately and the
real problem now has been classism, we need to take a stand now if we want to save our society.
Standing in solidarity is a must and it is extraordinarily mandatory to do so, we can fight and
stop this class segregation together for the best of our society. There may be problems that keep
us from doing that, such as the fear of being taken advantage of for both the poor and the rich.
The poor are scared that the rich will only use them as devalued predators because they have no
voice or power, and the rich are fearful that the poor will only take advantage of the fact that the
rich have wealth and power which will only benefit the poor. All of these problems need to be
solved because with a solution to these issues we can never agree as a whole to the fact that we
need to take a stand and stand in solidarity to save our society to stop class segregation.
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Works Cited
"Change From Within." Change From Within. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.

Valdata Patricia. Hooks, Bell. Where We Stand: Class Matters. Diverse Issues in Education.
New York: Routledge, 2000. Print. (2005).

Anonymous. Hooks, Bell. "Classism." Dictionary.com. Class in America. Dictionary.com, n.d.
Web. 17 Mar. 2014. (2007).

"Solidarity." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.









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(C) Papers: Represent an adequate level of writing that satisfies basic assignment requirements only.

Demonstrates some sense of audience and purpose.
Presents an adequate title that introduces the essay.
The topic is defined only generally. Thesis is present but is also general and is possibly
inadequate and/or ill-conceived. Support is often obvious and easily accessible, demonstrating
little awareness of the topics complexity or other points of view.
There is an attempt to cite outside sources of information.
Paragraphs are adequately organized, but contain only modest levels of focus and support
necessary to effectively illustrate assertions or represent clear, connected units of thought.
Paragraphs occasionally lack topic sentences and the use of transitions may be mechanical but
foster coherence.
Sentences demonstrate lapses in proofreading/editing with enough careless mistakes to
significantly catch a readers attention in a negative manner and affect readability. Sentence
structure is relatively simple, exhibiting little or no variety.
Essay contains a minimally acceptable level of detail, rhetorical control, and critical thinking.