Cole Elliott

10-16-15
Dooley Humanities

The Class War

Many people have been socialized by their class. From the beginning of time
people have been socialized based on anything. Anything that people thought they
thought they could socialize people as a group and oppress them. My thesis is
when you are born into a class it affects how other classes see you and can affect
your class for the rest of your life. Except for a few people almost everybody stays
in the same class they were born in. I am a strong believer in the words of Michael
Moore Its not envy, its war, it is a class war, its a war thats been perpetrated by
the rich on to everyone else. The class war is one they started. Working class
people are socialized now as having little money, living in a trailer or some other
type of no-expensive home, and having a job like carpentry or construction. Upper
class people are socialized to have a large income usually from a large company or
business. They live in nice houses that a working or middle class citizen wouldn't
be able to buy. The class war will always exist unless we can completely get rid
of classes. That, in my opinion, will never happen because there will always be
someone that socializes someone into a class or other subject like race or gender.
Socialization in class affects everyone. Everybody has a class and has had a
class they were born into. My thesis states that except for a select few people
people dont go up in class. They go down or stay the same. There are few
examples of extraordinary people going from a lower class (working or middle) to
a higher upper class people. One such example is Pel. Pele is know to be the
greatest soccer player in the world. He was born in Bauru in the state of So Paulo.
He was born into poverty which means he was either working class or lower. As he
grew older he started playing soccer. He was amazing at it and eventually ended up
being named the best soccer player in the world. In 1978, Pel was awarded the
International Peace Award for his work with UNICEF. He has also served as
Brazil's Extraordinary Minister for Sport and a United Nations ambassador for
ecology and the environment.1 This is a quote from biography.com. It explains
how Pele won several awards for his success in soccer and other fields. He went
from a low working class teenager to an award winning soccer player. He is now
1 http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221 , Biography.com/Pele

an upper class citizen. This is one example of a person going from poverty to a
high upperclass men. The upper class people that a generally rich and have large
business or profession that they run. They make money off of the middle or
working class. Their advertisements are directed towards the middle and working
class people who buy the products. They try to bring the reader in by telling them
how good the product is and giving them numbers that make the product look
good. Planes for one example socializes us by having different seating for different
classes. First class is for upper class people that make a lot of money off of their
profession. Middle class seating is for the middle and working class people and
they don't have a seating place for lower class citizens because they cant afford to
fly. The Rich get Richer from the Blood of the Working Class. This is a quote
from Blood On The Dance Floor by Sick Sad World. 2 It sums up how the upper
class people wouldnt be upper class if it weren't for the middle, working, and
lower classes. Socialization in classes affects everyone. No matter what people will
always socialize people.
There are many examples of working class socialization in history. The one I
chose for this essay was the Ludlow massacre. The massacre, was a culmination
of a bloody widespread strike against Colorado coal mines, and resulted in the
violent deaths of between 19 and 26 people; reported death tolls vary but include
two women and eleven children, asphyxiated and burned to death under a single
tent.3 This is a quote from wikipedia on the massacre. The miners were fighting
for better rights and better living conditions. With the help of the United Mine
Workers of America (UMWA) they fought back against the companies of Colorado
Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I), Rocky Mountain Fuel Company (RMF), and
Victor-American Fuel Company (VAF) who were the biggest companies involved.
They eventually joined forces with the national guard. The miners and the United
Mine Workers of America (UMWA) lost and surrendered, but this is an example of
working class people being oppressed by upper class people in history. It affected
many people and could have affected more if the strike was successful.
I am a working class citizen. Im not rich and i'm not extremely poor. My
family lives in a trailer and makes enough money a year to be considered in the
working class. Both my parents work full time jobs and my dad works at auctions
most weekends to make some more money. There are many people in the working
2 Quote by From blood on the dance floor By: Sick Sad World.
3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Massacre , Wikipedia, The Ludlow massacre.

class that are oppressed everyday by the middle and upper class people. The
oppression of the working class is, in essence, its exclusion from political,
economic and social power.4 This is a quote from an article in
SocialistWorker.org. The article is about how not everybody in the working class is
oppressed. Only some people are oppressed, but we are oppressed. As it states we
are excluded from political, economic, and social power. We work so we can
hopefully have a better life than the one we have now. Not everybody is oppressed
in the working class but many of us are. Anything we will ever do is not going to
change that somebody will always be oppressed.
Many people have been socialized by their class. So, there are several things
to remember. First, socialization affects everyone. Second, there are many
examples of socialization in class throughout history that we can learn from. For
example the Ludlow massacre. Third, people are often oppressed based on their
class. We often judge people based on they live or how much money they make.
So, Have you ever oppressed or judged people based on their class?

4 http://socialistworker.org/2015/02/26/the-oppressed-majority , SocialistWorker: The oppressed majority.