Wednesday, 4 January 2006
Dead miners
You might have thought that when a mine collapses, as tragically happened on Monday in West Virginia, the cause is fairly self-evident. Tunnelling miles under ground is a dangerous business. But you'd be wrong. It's Bush's fault, apparently, according to American blogger Scott Shields:
Undoubtedly, some will criticize me for placing blame on President Bush here. The defense will be that Bush didn't cause the explosion that collapsed the mine. My response will be that he didn't do anything to prevent it. In fact, if anything, the actions of his administration made the situation worse.
They're all in bed together, you see, Bush and the big coal companies. Oh, I won't bore you with the detail, but it's there if you want to read it. The highlight, though, is the comments section, including this from "Boilermaker", written while the men's fate was still unknown (there was, in the end, only one survivor):
70% of white males in West Virginia voted for Bush and all the trapped miners are white male. It is highly unlikely that most of these guys did not vote for Bush. Life is very cruel. Sometimes the decisions you make cost you your life. Whether that decision is to go to Bali, carry drugs into Asian countries or a simple vote thinking that you are voting anti affirmative action or simply screwing a black guy. Life sucks. That is the way it is.
Charming. And some people think "nastiness" is the preserve of the right.
UPDATE (Thursday): The NY Times has weighed in, claiming that the Bush administration bears its share of the blame for encouraging laxity in safety standards. Bizzyblog posts a welcome corrective, pointing out that mining deaths have actually fallen under this president.
