Syndicate
Special Thanks To...
The following organizations were early supporters of Mensactivism.org, and we thank them for their support. If you'd like to trade links with us, see our Mensactivism.org supporters page.
Obama Calls for Safety Improvements in Eulogy for W.Va. Miners
Submitted by anthony on Mon, 2010-04-26 01:08
Story here. Excerpt:
'President Obama, delivering a eulogy Sunday for the 29 workers who died in a West Virginia coal mine explosion, said their deaths should serve as a call to action to improve mine safety and prevent a similar tragedy from ever happening again.
Obama and Vice President Biden met privately with the families who lost loved ones before closing the memorial service with their remarks.
The president said in his eulogy that letters have poured into the White House since the April 5 disaster at the Upper Big Branch mine. "They make a simple plea: don't let this happen again," Obama said.
The president questioned how a country that relies on miners could "fail" in its duty to protect them, but said that must change.
"We cannot bring back the 29 men we lost. They are with the Lord now. Our task, here on Earth, is to save lives from being lost in another such tragedy. To do what must be done, individually and collectively, to assure safe conditions underground," Obama said at the service in Beckley, W.Va. "To treat our miners the way they treat each other -- like family. For we are all family. We are Americans."'
- Log in to post comments
Comments
How about that! He used the word 'men'!
Finally, someone uses THAT WORD to describe the men who were killed! After 1,000s of instances of the use of "workers", "miners", "mine workers", etc., FINALLY, the word "men" is used.
Wow, will wonders never cease?
Perfect example
Mining is a perfect example of why approx. 93% of work place deaths are male.
Wage gap -- Men make up the vast majority of individuals employed in dangerous professions. Careers with long hours combined with environmental and occupational hazards usually command a higher income.
Also an example of the 'glass cellar'. A term coined by Warren Farrell. Mining is a dirty, dangerous profession which probably doesn't pay enough to off set the risk -- including the high rate of emphysema. These are jobs women don't want and you'll never see a feminist demand an affirmative action initiative to bring more women into the profession.
The answer to this...
"The president questioned how a country that relies on miners could "fail" in its duty to protect them"
...is this - virtually all miners are men. Given how much he has done to screw men over he really doesn't need to be told that.
----------------------
Rise, Rebel, Resist.
Possibilities
In the televised excerpt of the speech I saw, he actually seemed to go out of his way to emphasize the word men. I'm grasping at straws, but maybe that was our wink. His presidency is under siege by feminists who are still pushing for Hillary in '12. Maybe if we show more political initiative, we can get his attention.
Just maybe initiatives like this are beginning to sink in.
Considering the
Considering the circumstances I also think he intentionaly chose the word men. It is possible what you say is true, or it may have just been a speech (it is Obama). Either way we are going to have to do most the work.