Six miners were trapped in a mine after it collapsed on them. Three rescue workers died when it collapsed again. After twenty-nine days of trying to get to these men, the rescue mission has finally been called off.
And here's an even sadder part... The owner of the mine, Bob Murray, has been treating the families like crap since this whole thing started. It got so bad, his disrespect and lack of involvement in the retrieval of his employees, he was asked by the federal government to stay away from the briefings and the families. Wow, how bad is that, that even the federal government, who seem to have a corner on the market when it comes to treating people badly, tells you you're misbehaving so much you need to stay away?
We now have six men, probably dead, though we'll never know because no one wants to truly find them except the families. The owner of the mine, Murray, even went as far as to say in the same announcement that the search was ending, was that they weren't even going to try to retrieve the bodies so the families could bury them.
These miners, some if not all of them, have families and children who love them. To be sure, a funeral is for the living, to give them one last chance to say goodbye, but a funeral is one of the more important parts of grieving. For the owner of the mine to deny them this, well, he hasn't a clue and for him, it's all about the Benjamin's.
Another small event to strike a blow against the families is the federal government denying the families the right of representation of their choosing.
See, the Crandall Canyon Mine is a non-union shop. However, if two or more families request assistance from the United Mine Workers of America Union, the union can represent them. The federal government allows the mine can represent the miners, they just can't represent the FAMILIES of the miners, unless the miners give them permission to do so. Oh? Would this be the same miners who were trapped by the mine collapse requiring the families to seek help?
Yeah, just checking...
Due to this decision, that means the mine collapse is going to be investigated by... the mine...
Wow, I wish I had the freedom. Next time I have an accident, forget sending out the adjuster. Just let me investigate it all and I'll let the insurance company know what the results are...
I declare shenanigans on this whole mess.
I declare shenanigans against the mine owner who was probably striking out over the loss of six miners as well as the mine. He just struck out at the wrong people. In short, he's an ass...
I declare shenanigans against the federal government for stopping all rescue efforts. I do the same for their denying the family members to seek assistance from whomever they wish.
Six men are probably dead hundreds of feet below the surface of the earth and no one wants to help their loved ones.
The trapped men are:
Kerry Allred
Don Erickson
Luis Hernandez
Juan Carlos Payan
Brandon Phillips
Manuel Sanchez
The men who died trying to rescue them are:
Dale Ray Black
Brandon Kimbler
Gary Jensen
Now, here's another nice piece of news: Before the mine called for help, the sheriff had already been called FIVE MINUTES BEFORE by seismologists in the area who had registered the activity on their equipment. The seismologists are saying, not with 100% certainty, that the activity on their equipment, a 3.9 magnitude seismic event, was the mine collapsing. Up to this point, the mine owners have been saying the 3.9 event CAUSED the mine collapse and the seismologists are saying it WAS the mine collapse.
This whole thing smells like a bad fish left out in the sun. This whole thing stinks to high heaven and the only ones who will get hurt will be the miner's families. The feds are already out to screw them, the mine owner will receive all the protection the feds have to offer him, and these poor families are going to be raped even more than they already have been.
I'm bloody sick and tired of the government working so hard to maintain the status quo when it bails out yet another wealthy business owner or fat cat millionaire. The legislation he signed the other day to help the sub-prime homeowners sounds good on the surface, but the truth of the matter is, he's doing it to prevent the banks from going broke with all these foreclosures and no ability to sell the houses that are now glutting the market. When it was just the homeowners who were being hurt, the government wanted nothing to do with all this. Now that it's affecting Wall Street, well, the government has to jump in and take care of things.
The government will be there for the mine owners and the government agencies who messed up left, right and center, but they won't be there for the families of the men who died. No one intends to be there for the families... No one but themselves. It's not the fault of the men who were working to earn a living, it's not the fault of the people who love them. It IS the fault of the owners who allowed the mountain to buckle over several months, knowing a collapse was imminent, but realizing the cost to prevent it would force them to dip into their precious profits.
That's just my two cents, and who am I?
