The groveling plague

When someone first sent me this column, titled "Is West Virginia a Cult?" I groaned. On reflection, though, the writer had a point or two.

I mean, how messed up is it when people brag about how much abuse they are able to take from their ruling class?

Or when the state's leading politician, Senator Joe Manchin, brags about West Virginians being willing and able to do the "heavy lifting"? (Translation: getting shafted by rich corporations and saying, "Thank you sir! May I have another?")

The writer kind of nailed it here:

"The hard-luck people of Appalachia deserve their reputation for physical courage and a strong work ethic. But they suffer more from servility than bad luck. Outsiders wince when the  natives angrily declare their independent spirit and then cringe before corporate polluters, however tawdry."

Actually, polluting isn't even half of the story. Let's not forget killing workers on the job, either by fast or slow methods and getting away with it.

The sad part is that I remember a time when West Virginians weren't as good at groveling before their masters as they are today. I'd like to think that this boot-licking phase will pass. I guess we'll see.

Rant alert

I feel a major one coming on. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe in print rather than online. But one's on the way.


The rant will be related to the "aquacalypse" that has hit around 300,000 West Virginians over the past several days.


I've been thinking about how when Senator Joe Manchin was governor he took down the popular "Wild, wonderful West Virginia" signs at the borders and put up ones that said "Open for business" until popular outcry got too loud to ignore.


(Maybe that sign should now be updated to say "Open for poison.")


West Virginia has indeed been wide open for certain kinds of business for the last 100 years or so to get away with murder, metaphorically and sometimes literally. And, with some notable exceptions, the state's political leaders have done all they could to help.


Now the chickens have come home to roost, as real chickens do. And one irony of all this is that this "open for business" attitude helped lead to this toxic mess that will make it even harder to attract the kinds of people and businesses and investments we need to move beyond the pillage economy.


I'd also like to ask a couple of WV's top level politicians a question. That question is this: "if the people of West Virginia one of these days get sick and tired of being sold out to corporations by politicians, how much do you think your life would change?"


My guess is, a lot.