Everyone treated these Sago mining families like children

[demnan]

Everyone from CNN to the governor, to the mining company all treated these people like simple-minded hillbillies. Throughout, all the interviews, the simplistic questions, the belief in "miracles" was all such a load of horse-shit. The fact that they were all happy enough to lie in church should set off some bells with these people.

Also, I suspect the mining company is covering up something. They may have allowed these people to die on purpose to hide safety violations within the mine. I can't validate these feelings. Just a hunch I have. I hope the one who survived actually becomes cognizant again, but I wouldn't count on it.

[mrcheerful]

1. Sadly by friday this will be out of the news

and out of the peoples minds until the next time cost cutting at workers expense gets some more killed. Lets face it, most people out there have the same attention span as any 8 year old. Look at how many people out there were surprised that you could ask the president questions. They polled senors in high school if it was legal to question the president, something like 60% said it was illegal.

[demnan]

3. For centuries people in Appalachia have been abused

and this isn't the first time a mining company has lied to mining families. Sadly this goes on under all administrations.

[mrcheerful]

8. Yeah I know

had family that died from black lung. But coal minning was deemed safe. Right.

[liberalnurse]

2. Well, there were several interviewed

that behaved rather immaturely....I cringed when one yelled, "This is a free country and I'm a Christian" then babbled on without clarifying any real point. Yes, she was upset and had not yet gathered her thoughts.....but the "I'm a Christian Shield and Badge of Privilege" is a real turn-off and usually as far as they desire think.

[demnan]

4. Yes but please don't blame the victim

A good book on this topic is "Night Comes to the Cumberlands" which was written in 1963 by Harry Caudhill. Some progress has been made in the mountains since that book was written, however it discusses the abuse that mining companies have practiced against people for a century.

[liberalnurse]

5. I don't blame the family victims, my heart aches for them.

I just wish they would get with the program. Indeed, they are quite capable. I believe this issue may be a motivator. Someone posted about a family victim on a morning talk show asking for the Union to return to the mining industry. That is a start. Thank you for the book link. O8)

[sandnsea]

6. I think they feel invisible

That's the impression I got. Sort of like how the Katrina victims are feeling. I think those words were their way of trying to impress upon the rest of the country that they are real people who deserve the same amount of attention of oh, maybe a rich missing white girl in Aruba. It struck me how powerless and disconnected people are feeling. They just didn't seem to have that same sense of entitlement that that Aruba mother has.

[underpants]

7. Nominated-I completely agree demnan well said

Here is a thread I started on it.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x47480

Not only does it seem that they are rewriting what happened in the middle of the night I got the same sense. The Governor seems to be on the Mining company's damage control team. They literally are looking down at the families and saying,"Look you little inconsequencial rock digger you shut up and go back down there and do what you are told. You don't remember what happened last night do you DO YOU!!?!??!"

What took 3 hours? CNN let slip out that Hatfield knew within 20 minutes that there was some bad info out there. I swear!-I think they were watching the football game and waited until it was over before they thought about telling the worker bees that their family members were gone.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

9. That's why unions were originally formed in WV. The unions were....

...formed to protect the individual miner from the abuses of mine owners and their management teams. The movie "Matewan" is a very good fictional account of a 1920s unionization effort in Matewan, WV...I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about this subject.

My grandfather died from Black Lung, a disease he contracted from working the coal mines in West Virginia for more than 30 years. Unfortunately, he died right before the legislation was passed providing benefits for those who became ill from that terrible disease.

[Little Star]

10. Miners more than most need

a union. At least then they would have some sort of voice on the unsafe environment in which they work. Gov. regulations and corporations are not going to look out for them any more than they do for mother earth.