McCormick, 1

Olivia K. McCormick

Lori Bedell

Cas137

5 October 2018

Worker’s Solidarity in Poland Rhetorical Analysis Paper

In 1989, the Soviet Union reigned devastating control over Eastern Europe, including Poland,

whereas in the West, the United States took advantage of its freedom to develop the ideologies

and style we know of from the 80’s. In the rhetorical analysis and comparison of a workers’

solidarity poster and politically charged artwork from Keith Haring advocating for the LGBT

community, the difference in rhetoric of the East and West is far more clearly seen (Solidarność,

1989, Haring, 1989). The Polish Solidarność poster’s context within the Soviet Union and its use

of kairos is part of what makes its claim so haunting. Both artifacts, through their notion of

civility by use of emerging ideologies, were a catalyst in breaking down oppressive systems and

were produced in the same year; it is impossible to tell this by the artifacts alone. The importance

of the difference in Eastern and Western governments in 1989 is demonstrated intensely with the

use of rhetoric in Keith Haring’s Silence Equals Death artwork and Poland’s Solidarność poster.

Most importantly, the style of the Solidarność poster is brimming with irony in its intrinsic

proofs. Mainly, the workers’ Solidarity movement in 1989 was led by Lech Wałęsa. Many

consider him a hero for this reason. He was responsible for the movement that resulted in what

can be considered the start of the Soviet Union’s fall. Although Polish people were captivated by

his emerging ideologies and his pleas through pathos, he was convicted of collaborating with the

Communist Secret Police. The idea of an independent self-governing labor union was such a
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strong emerging ideology that Poles viewed their political climate as either following Lech

Wałęsa or facing possible starvation with the dominant Soviet ideology. As the leader of

Solidarność, it is implied through extrinsic proof that the hand depicting peace in the poster is in

fact Mr. Wałęsa’s. Due to Wałęsa’s political controversy and lack of credibility, or ethos, there is

no more fitting symbol than a cuffed hand in a peace sign, both because Poles were

metaphorically shackled to the Soviet Union and still stood up for peace, and because the leader

of the Solidarity movement is a convicted traitor with a Nobel Peace prize. The same idea of

irony is implied with the solidarność poster’s use of color. The color red was widely known and

represented by communists, but through intentional choice the artifact is making it about the

colors of Poland’s flag: red and white.

The major proposition of the Solidarność artifact in its color, through intrinsic proof, shows

the battle between peace and control for Poland in the 80’s in relation to the Soviet Union.

Rationing in Poland even further demonstrates the irony of Eastern propaganda wherein the

solidarność poster defies Eastern Ideologies through Kairos and intrinsic proofs what it meant to

live in the East. The Soviet Union generally used intrinsic proofs, specifically pathos. No beer

before two in the afternoon and vegetarian Mondays’ were examples of the government using

emotional appeals to make it seem more normal that the stores didn’t have any meat and the bars

didn’t have any beer. Furthermore, with rationing expanding to meat and cooking oil and

eventually expanding to sugar, then butter, flour, rice, soap, alcohol, and gasoline, Poles grew

increasingly angry. With the Soviet Union taking most of the goods from Poland, ad campaigns

for rationing were a poor attempt at controlling Poland’s feelings toward this. Poland was a

major producer of almost all of what was being rationed and they were the very first people to

have to ration. As one can imagine, gasoline rationing had the most effect on Poland because it
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brought attention to the amount of control the Soviet Union really had. The government made

efforts through pathos to make it seem as though rationing was really for the good of the

individual. This anger toward being controlled bubbled up into the 80’s, a time when Poles were

seriously rebelling against Communism with movements like Solidarność. It is worth mentioning

that the Solidarność movement in Poland started in the Gdansk (formerly Lenin) Shipyard

(Making the History of 1989). The 17,000 ship builders were the backbone of Wałęsa’s

movement because of their commonplaces and similar ideologies. Uneducated himself, Wałęsa

used his commonplaces with the workers to propel his movement, ultimately building an

incredibly strong following. It was the shipyard workers who felt it was rubbing salt in the

wound having so many gimmicky advertisements in the face of rationing. The Solidarność

artifact came from the people. It is this that makes the movement in such opposition to its

rhetorical situation and in further alignment with the United States (Making the History of 1989)

(Inside-Poland.com).

Keith Haring’s artwork used rhetorical style in a much different way. The United States in

the West had been grappling with progressive movements for feminism and the LGBT

community in a time of intense conservatism under the Raegan administration. This

administration was widely criticized for not addressing the AIDS crisis, and Haring took

advantage of this glaring negligence. With his ethos as an openly gay man with AIDS in the

1980’s, Keith Haring took advantage of the moment in history when people were first dealing

with AIDS. His artwork cut through the developing fear of the gay community by Kairos. Haring

depicts three shaking characters, each turning a blind eye to a crisis they themselves are in,

ultimately representing fear. Advocating for the LGBT community, Haring depicts a pink

triangle similar to those used to mark homosexuals during the second World War. The impact of
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this is that Haring is trying to project the treatment of homosexuals in the 80’s as unjust. With

this in mind, the pink triangle he uses is pointing up to symbolize hope. His characters are

depicted with pink X’s that represent the disease. Each of his characters are afraid to speak out

because of fear (“The Art Story”).

The Polish worker’s Solidarity movement in 1989 was surrounded with a starkly different

world view than many countries in general. This makes the movement especially haunting

compared to the United States. Keith Haring’s artwork of the same year, for example, exudes

ideas of the West. It represents what most think about in reference to the 80’s. Although these

artifacts are products of the same year, Poland, struggling in the Communist regime, produced a

harrowing image that is memorable through its difference to other political movements across

the world. The desperation of Poland in 1989 is conveyed through its lack of recognition as an

artifact of the 80’s. Without all the vivid colors, it actually stands out as being suppressed and

held back from its own evolution. In contrast, Keith Haring’s movement for AIDS is memorable

for the opposite reason. As an artist in the West, his haunting use of Kairos for Silence Equals

Death brings his audience’s attention to the shortcomings of the generation. Both of these

artifacts have a hard-hitting use of Kairos in conveying their separately East and West ideologies

to advance their movements (“The Art Story”).

To conclude, both artifacts are catalysts for breaking down oppressive systems.

Solidarność breaks down the communist regime by undermining it with the image of a handcuff,

and Keith Haring breaks down stigma about AIDS by his use of the pink triangle. Haring’s use

of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” was a spin on the Reagan administration’s refusal to

speak about the AIDS crisis, and the shackled peace sign was a way to communicate Poland’s

refusal to be silenced by the Soviet Union. Both artifacts desire a world where every voice is
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heard and treated equally. Haring challenges his audience to act with pride and hope in the same

way Solidarność challenged Poles to act with hope instead of fear.

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Works Cited
Haring, Keith. Ignorance Equals Fear Silence Equals Death. 1989.
https://sites.psu.edu/245spring2015/2015/12/13/keith-harings-aids-activism/.

Inside-Poland.com. WordPress, 2018. http://inside-poland.com/t/forensic-analysis-shows-lech-

walesa-was-agent-bolek-and-collaborated-with-secret-police-in-communist-era-poland/.
Accessed 26/09/2018.
Nowak, Basia. Making the History of 1989. Ohio State University, 2007.
http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/exhibits/consumerism-in-poland/essay. Accessed 26/09/2018.

The Art Story Contributors. The Art Story. The Art Story Contributors, 2018.
https://www.theartstory.org/artist-haring-keith.htm. Accessed 26/09/2018.

Solidarność Poster. 1989. https://www.polishgreatness.com/solidarnoscphotogalleryb.html.