The recent disaster and deaths in America’s mines are certainly tragic and one has to sympathize with the pain of the families and communities involved. But let’s be clear that the reason these stories are such big news is that such stories are so rare today. Twenty years ago — never mind fifty years ago — mine accidents were run-of-the-mill. When you watch much of the broadcast coverage of the issue, you’d think that there was once this glorious time when coal mines were a safe place to work. I think there’s a good story to be written on the snobbishness involved in these sorts of stories. There’s a certain shock that the mainstream press endures when they discover that mining is hazardous or that in many parts of the world child labor isn’t merely widespread but an important part of the economy. This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t make mine’s safer. But there’s a kind of defining deviancy up in this race to make mining safe — now. Recall that child labor in the US was only banned once the middle class could afford to send its kids to school and decided that the poor should live by their norms.

After all, as JPod notes, Byrd — and Rockefeller — have had a lot of time to make mine-safety a priority. And I’d wager that mining in West Virginia has gotten safer almost every year since these guys have been in office and only now are they launching a crusade.