Jan. 4th, 2006

guest_age: (WVU)
I apologize for my angry rant this morning. I still mean everything I said, but had I not have been so upset, I would've taken the time to chose my words better. This is what I would like to say.

I understand that coal is vital to West Virginia's eceonomy. It is all we have, basically. I respect that we need it to keep this state alive. My issue is not with mining, per se, it is with the way the coal companies conduct their mining.

Because their coal is so vital to our state, they know that they have a power over its people. They then abuse that power to ignore safety regulations and do whatever they want. My grandpa is now disabled because of his work in the mines. My mom's boyfriend, who she has only been with for 6 months, has been chemically burned twice, once in the eye (he was almost blinded permanently) and once on his arm. My roommate's father died when she was 12 years old due to Black Lung that he caught in the coal mines. Twelve men are now dead because they were just doing their jobs.

Now, I don't know if this particular incident was caused by human error or by what I'm about to say, but in any case, it does happen more often than not.

The coal companies do not follow safety regulations. They ignore health concerns, overload coal trucks, do not follow safety regulations, etc, and then our people pay the price. I can't tell you the number of times I have watched the local news and found that a coal truck has caused a car crash and now a family of four is dead because the truck was traveling with too much coal. I can't tell you the number of times their sludge ponds/dams have broken and filled our rivers with their toxic waste or even flooded towns. I shudder to think how many men and women who have worked in mines now have Black Lung or some other crippling disease.

I see the effects of coal every time I hear my grandpa gasp for breath. I see the effects of coal every time I look at the scar on my mom's boyfriend's arm. I see the effects of coal every time I meet my friends' eyes when the word "father" is mentioned because she no longer has hers, thanks to coal.

Coal companies need to wake up and realize that people are more important than coal and start following regulations. They need to take appropriate precautions to prevent accidents like this and other ones. They need to stop acting like they have the right to play God.

My heart aches because I know that these twelve men were not the first to lose their lives to the coal mines of West Virginia, nor will they be the last.

Thank you and I'm sorry for your flists, please forgive. Also, I'm making this post public because it's something everyone needs to know, not just the people I have friended. I suppose that unless you are a West Virginian, it is hard to understand or even trouble yourself about this. I hope that you'll take the time to care anyway.

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