Having been around the Appalachian states may I say that the conditions that exist in the mines are WAY WAY different than on the docks on the West Coast .......... now. In coal mines the things that have and are going on are so far past what the Longshore guys face that it is ridiculous to compare them. A miner on strike over safety with a baseball bat is acceptable conduct, as long as he does not instigate the violence. It is a different world with different unwritten rules and someone from the PC portions of the country seldom has a grasp of the history of what made them the people they are. WE tend to make fun of them and imply they inter breed with that superior PC liberal look and fact is we don't hold a candle to those folks in personal integrity or ethics. The modern morality and correctness is rather shallow.