The miner's

I have been watching the news over the last few days trying to keep up with the story about the miner's. I was so hoping for a great outcome. It is all just so sad.
I was watching a morning show and one of the hosts asked how does a mine stay in business with 45 safety violations...well I can probably tell you how. I used to work at a quarry. I was right out of college and it was a real eye opener for a fresh kid.
After working there for a while the boss who I shall call Buttwipe (I'll use a variation of the Pirate's boss man) decided that he would send me to safety school to learn everything I could and when I got back I could be in charge of the "safety program." Well it all sounded wonderful. But the reality of the situation was that he was looking for someone who was niave like myself to send to school and then bring back and put my name down as being in charge of safety and then continue doing business as usual with a convenient little scape goat.
Conditions were not good. When I went to school it was a complete eye opener. I couldn't believe that there were so many potential dangers lurking around. Long story short... they had no intentions of changing things and I had no intentions of standing idly by while all these things were happening. So after much stress and arguing I told them to stick it all where the sun don't shine.
But along the way I realized how the big world works. You buddy up to the inspectors and by them lunch and when you have safety conferences you take them out drinking and to dinner and when they come and inspect your quarry then they turn their heads the other way. Never mind that the safety of human lives is what all of this is about.
It made me sick. I had options in life but alot of men (I was the only woman there) didn't. They had little to no education and for alot of them it was a given to work at a quarry. The men in their families had for generations. Most of them were the sole bread winners in their families so if something happened to them the family was without income (not to mention a father and husband).
But Buttwipe didn't care all he was worried about was the almighty dollar and he was willing to roll the dice and bet that he would get away with it. And he did. Thankfully no one got bad hurt. Recently, Buttwipe sold out to a bigger quarry so I don't know how things are now. I am not usually a vindictive person. But I would love to see him and his cronies penniless and on the street corner.
But back to the miners I bet dollars to donuts that the mine owner's was rolling the dice the same as Buttwipe, only things didn't turn out so well. My heart goes out to the families of the miner's. And if there is any justice in this world I hope that if the mine owner's and safety inspectors weren't doing like they were supposed to that they are punished to the fullest extent of the law.