And so it has begun. The usual ritual by the usual people. The heartfelt statements by the government officials, from the White House to the local mayor's office. The demand to "get to the bottom" of the situation. All presented with stern faces and sometimes the thumping of the podium. Of course, the CEO of whatever company will show up in his Docker's and jacket. Telling those closely involved that the company will offer whatever assistance is needed. Oh yes, and the Blue Ribbon Panel.
People died. Just like they have died oh so many times before. And always those responsible appear with the same ridiculous stern faces and words, signifying absolutely nothing. Always the deaths. Always the meaningless words. Always the same old, same old. And then, within a month or two, its back to making sure the country has the needed coal to make the country run.
All bullshit. Every single syllable. Every single tear drop. They have all been trotted out so many times that most anyone who's been alive any length of time could likely write the whole play in an evening. The words are useless. The tears are fake. The fact is that the dead will not rise. They will not return. And, many, many more will follow as surely as the sun rises.
How can I be so sure? Because absolutely nothing will change. The coal companies will continue to do everything they can to keep from making the changes that have been needed for more than a century to prevent those deaths. The Inspectors will make reports. Their bosses will file them away. The folks in the concerned capitols, including Washington, DC will go back to cocktail parties and backyard bbq's. All will resume life as usual. Until the next disaster.
This, of course, will bring about once again the scenario we all know. The ones we have heard on the radio, seen on tv and the internet for oh so many years. When once again the government shills will appear with wringing hands and stern words. And, the obligatory company officials will appear before us.
How can anyone with an ounce of integrity believe for a minute the play that has been presented time after time, year after year, century after century? When even now we know that coal companies, especially those involved in longwall mining are doing everything possible in every venue possible to keep from making the changes needed to make workers safe. When even now they are fighting EPA on the matter of whether they should be allowed to continue to poison our water.
Much of the coal being mined with the longwall process today is not doing anything for this country in any way. In fact, it is going to China. Everyone knows it. The government officials. The water carrying press. And, us. We all know that these companies, Massey, Peabody, CONSOL an all the rest, are lying. They are killing people for profit. Not to protect the nation. Not to provide jobs. They are killing people for profit.
2 comments:
The WVDEP and OSM are complicit in this tragedy. Blankenship actually spoke an important truth when he told MetroNews radio "Violations are unfortunately a normal part of the mining process here," adding there are violations at "every coal mine in America" and noting government regulators had allowed the mine to remain open. Unless every single violation is taken seriously by the regulators - a zero tolerance policy - it is hard to blame the coal companies for taking them lightly. Until it becomes "normal" for mines to be idled or shut down for safety and environmental violations, the same old dance will just keep playing out again and again.
Agreed Steve. And, at least at the moment, I'm not hopeful in that regard. Putting Pizarchik and his ilk in charge of enforcement suggests that things will not soon change. But, that does not mean we give up. As long as these criminals continue to operate, we absolutely must demand they be held accountable. And, by them, I mean both the longwall operators as well as the regulators who act in collusion with them.
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