Although I can only imagine the emotional rollercoaster realatives have been going through. It seems crazy and futile to get angry about the misinformation.
The relatives should be thankful that so many people went to so much trouble to save their loved ones.
Lets hope the one miner miracle survives.
It is a terrible tragedy, one that needs to be looked at as the mine in question has been cited for safety violations many times recently. Also tragic is the fact that less than 12 hours after learning of their loved ones fates, some relatives are talking law suit....maybe they could grieve a bit before seeing dollar signs?
I live in the heart of coal mining country. The people that live in this area rarely travel to 'the other side of the mountain." They are very isolated and tend to have an identity that outsiders don't understand. Violence is a part of their coping history.
Coal mining is extremely dangerous work. Even if one never encounters an accident like this, the work life of a miner is quite short. Miners are easy to spot. They usually walk with poor posture. They are short of breath and they age prematurely. I also experience them as chronically tired and depressed, so there is a lot of substance abuse which doesn't help with the tendency towards violence.
Originally posted by STANGWhat are your thoughts about their faith? They seemed to be very vocal about it.
I've worked in underground coal mines for short stints. Many miners do so because their fathers and their fathers' fathers and uncles did so. They don't know much better and someone has to do the dirty job. Respect.