• PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPM
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    4 days ago

    I grew up a literal stone’s throw from WV (at least if you had a strong enough arm). It’s a shame what the rise of right-wing radio in the 90s has done to the place.

    Used to be another kind of union stronghold too.

    • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Yep, you nailed it with right wing radio. I remember so much Rush is Right stuff from my childhood, and I barely remember a lot of my childhood.

      My grandpas were both union men. One was a real piece of shit who told his piece of shit son, my father, to get the hell out of the state. They lived across the river from Ohio.

      My decent grandpa on the other side and his fantastic example of a son, my uncle, were both union men. They lived in the southern coalfields. If you know about Jesco White, they lived about a mile from him until they got enough money to move to town.

      Now it’s so hard to talk unions here. I wish we had a union. I know be the change and all, but I need this job badly and they would not hesitate to fire us all for organizing. My field is pretty specialized, to the point that we only employ two people who live in WV, and our competitors are struggling. They have no presence or contracts here anyway.

      And for a few reasons, I’m not going to run away like my dad did. Not yet. At least it’s still easy to get armed up here, for now.