How toxic is smokestack nostalgia? | Aeon Essays
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Steel mills, coal mines and blast furnaces have killed and poisoned thousands of Americans – so why mourn their passing?
Two memorials pay homage to the miners killed in a coal dust explosion on 5 April 2010 at the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, West Virginia. One is a towering black granite monument etched with the silhouettes of the 29 miners, from Cory Davis, who was aged 20, to Benny Willingham, 61. The monument’s inscription reads: ‘Come to Me All You Who Labor and I Will Give You Rest’. The other memorial, a few miles away at the Brushy Eagle mine, features two rows of small red wooden crosses topped by miniature miner’s hats, each labelled with the name of one of the victims. This homely handmade…
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