Comment by
taminator013 on
Portland College Reaps Angry Feedback After Launch...
A coal miner and his daughters
Yeah, I should be hated because I'm white and came from privilege. My
ancestors on both sides of the family came here in the late 1800s, well
after slavery was abolished. Most of them worked in the coal mines for
not much more than slave wages. My grandfather ended up with a crippled
hand from a cave in and contracted black lung aka miner's asthma. A
great uncle died in a cave in and anothers leg was crushed by a coal
car.My other grandfather and his sister grew up in an orphanage. Both my
parents were depression babies. When I was little my father worked for
Westinghouse. When things got slow the company would furlough half the
workers for a week and then call them back for a week. This way they
couldn't collect any unemployment benefits, so they were only earning
half wages for a long time. Pretty hard to feed a family and pay the
bills. Yeah, I can see where I should be hated for coming from privilege
and affluence.
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White privilege?
My family settled in the mountains of what is now W.Va between the towns of Parsons and Elkins in the late 1700's
My
great grandfather was a blacksmith by trade,he also set up a
sawmill, felled all the trees to saw into lumber to build a 6 bedroom
farmhouse-a house that is still standing, and still owned by family.
All
the food was grown on the land,an apple orchard was planted,hen houses
and barns were built, cattle, and hogs were raised. there was a huge
vegetable garden,cornfields, wheat,barley, and rye was grown.
There was a still to turn some of the corn and rye into whiskey.
Extra crops,critters and blacksmith work was traded for cash or bartered for goods needed.
My
great grandparents had 13 kids,when they were grown-the men moved a
couple hours away,and went to work in the coal mines around Fairmont
W.Va. Some went farther away and worked steel mill jobs in Pittsburgh,or
Wierton W.Va. A couple went even farther and worked the shipyards up
and down the east coast.
Many used the money they earned to attend
college,so their children had it better,and didn't have to risk being
killed in the mines.
Most fought in WWI,their children fought in WWII
and/or Korea,their children fought in Vietnam,the next generation
fought in the first gulf war,the current generation fought or is
fighting in Iraq/Afghanistan.
Where's the privilege?
From my great
grandfathers family,down to my family,we all worked for a living,we
worked lousy jobs when we had no other work,we bartered for things we
didn't have the $$$ for, none of us ever sat on our asses and
expected "the government" to take care of us.
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Comment by taminator013
I have some old family photos from back in those days that are very similar to the ones in the header. They are a great reminder of how easy we have it now compared to our ancestors.
No one studied for me, worked for me, gave me a grant, sat for exams for me, took my call, worked my hundred-hour weeks, laid awake endless nights worrying about sick patients, or endured the cumulative sadness of patients, who become friends, dying and the looks on my childrens' faces as I leave yet another event to go tend to a patient.
No, no one did it for me but they sure can hate me for my privilege of doing it all, and tax me proportionately.