I grew up deep in Appalachia in Southeastern Kentucky and have a connection with that area that can only truly be understood by people who are from that neck of the woods. Like many who live in inner cities or in rural farm communities, the connection of people who live deep in the Appalachian mountains is strong and runs throughout generations. Last night as I was watching coverage of the mine disaster, I wept with joy when I found out that the miners were reported to be alive. I stayed up until around two, hoping to see the re-connection with the miners' families and to watch as people who are normally so fallen with tragedy experienced a bit of joy.
All of these thoughts obviously reversed this morning when I awoke to the news that 11 of the 12 miners were actually killed in the disaster and that the original news report was faulty. Many are quick to blame the media, but I actually watched coverage of this story into the night and I found the media (for once) fairly responsible. CNN reported the headline all night as "Report: Miners Found Alive." The media was cut off from the news sources and did the best they could under the circumstances.
However I believe the true legacy of this story is the spotlight it has shone on Appalachia.....(more below).
Everyone is of course quick to play the blame game and that is understandable. Certainly questions will have to be answered by the company in charge, the state mining inspections and the federal government as well. But what strikes me much more is the utter predictability of the tragedy of these people's lives
The life of a miner and of Appalachians in general is hard beyond belief. These are people who are tied to a land and an area that, while beautiful, contains some of the roughest lifestyles possible in 2006 America. Poverty is rampant in a way that is really only matched by Native American reservations and the worst of inner cities. The people are proud, but they truly are the forgotten poor of America.
When I clerked on an appellate court in DC, I heard a speech by law professor Peter Edelman of Georgetown, who said that the poverty and struggle in Appalachia was enough to break your heart. He spoke of how Robert Kennedy wanted to make a legacy of his potential presidency, the transformation of the region. As I watched the coverage this morning and saw the faces of the distraught relatives, I thought of that speech. Edelman began crying when speaking of the people, and watching their greaving faces this morning, I did as well.
It is easy as progressives to see the injustice throughout our country. There are thousands of racial problems, injustices due to sexual preference and class differences that pervade our society. But the people of Appalachia, especially those who are forced by life's difficulties to seek out harsh work such as coal mining are virtually forgotten by many of us. There are few interest groups that fight for them and their voices are almost never heard by the media or politicians. If anything, they are only noticed to be mocked....as more intelligent individuals cringe at their backward ways. In short, as Don Imus said this morning, "these are the people that are always screwed." Today is a heart-breaking day for me and I hope that the symbolism of what happened is not lost on the country as a whole.