this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2025
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As director of the New River Health Association Black Lung Clinic, Emery’s seen guys as young as 45 getting double lung transplants as disease rates soar among miners forced to dig through more rock filled with deadly silica to reach the remaining coal — far worse than the dust their grandfathers inhaled.

A rule approved last year by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration would cut the federal limit for allowable respirable crystalline silica dust exposure by half to help protect miners of all types nationwide from the current driving force of black lung and other illnesses.

But, now, it’s in jeopardy amid other Trump administration cutbacks and proposals targeting workers’ health and safety guardrails: Stuck in a politically charged environment that promotes industry, with lawmakers arguing to change it and the federal agency that wrote the rule not pushing to enforce it. Some angry retired miners with black lung are fighting back, demanding that Donald Trump honor promises he made to the people who voted him in.

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[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 16 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"And every day you're in this place you're two days nearer death. But you go."

[–] Tiger666@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That's not the coal song it's the chemical song, silly.

https://youtu.be/yM4pXRFVpt0

Try this one on for size.

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah...I knew. It was just an example of desperation and sacrifice just to feed your family. I clicked your link, that is one good song.

[–] Tiger666@lemmy.ca 2 points 11 hours ago

I'm glad you like it.

Have an awesome day!

[–] Insekticus@aussie.zone 4 points 2 days ago

Well no shit. You'd have to be amongst the dumbest motherfuckers on this plane to have not seen this coming. And no doubt those yokels voted for him, too.

Stupid is what stupid does..

[–] nkat2112@sh.itjust.works 83 points 3 days ago (6 children)

Some angry retired miners with black lung are fighting back, demanding that Donald Trump honor promises he made to the people who voted him in.

This is the epitome of the leopard meme. Still, I can't help but feel sad - even for the misguided idiots that brought this harm into the world.

[–] oxysis@lemmy.blahaj.zone 57 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I can’t bring myself to feel bad for these people anymore. They’ve had countless times to realize how they were being taken advantage of but they never did. They have a mountain of evidence so big it makes Olympus Mons look like an anthill. And these people willingly voted to harm others, to dehumanize others, to abuse others. So I can’t even feel bad for them given what they’ve done.

Trump doesn't care about them and their black lung. If the lung would be white, that would be another thing, but black? Never! 🙄

[–] n0respect@lemmy.world 31 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

The worst part is, we can generate electricity without giving people black lung. Just a waste.

[–] Junkers_Klunker@feddit.dk 5 points 3 days ago

Yes but without beautiful clean coal America would become a communist state. That’s what our dear leader told us anyway.

[–] Credibly_Human@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

even for the misguided idiots

I don't think a single one of them didn't vote to hurt some marginalized group.

I think they're all actually single issue voters, and their issue was "hurting the right people" to maintain what they feel their status in the hierarchy should be.

[–] WindyRebel@lemmy.world 17 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Some angry retired miners with black lung are fighting back, demanding that Donald Trump honor promises he made to the people who voted him in.

“You are infected with the WOKE AGENDA! Only weak get the BLACK lung and use it as an EXCUSE. Everybody’s saying it. We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN and remove the WOKE MIND VIRUS (which is also apparently invading lungs). THANK YOU YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!”

[–] madcaesar@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] WindyRebel@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

It’s a real photo of Trump not giving a shit that someone fainted.

It’s also a nice metaphor for how he is treating the US.

[–] madcaesar@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

🤣 Malania could faint next to him and he'd give no shits

[–] sssm@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

Can’t sidestep the fact that heritage foundation and associates basically bought all rural media and pushed their manipulative agenda out pretty much with nobody blinking an eye.

It proves you have humanity.

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 16 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I thought coal was clean and beautiful, though?

[–] Professorozone@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It is. These miners are lying. It's a false flag event. Fucking Biden!

/s.

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[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago

Green coal. It smells like strawberries. I'm eating a bowl right now!

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 30 points 3 days ago

On a somewhat related note, people may know that Pittsburgh is one of the top places in the US for medical research and treatment. It's the home of Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and many others. It has "the second-most hospitals and second-most doctors per capita of any in the nation".

But why would the "Steel City" have such good medical care? It turns out that for a while, steel worker unions were really powerful, and one of the main benefits the unions fought for was good health care for their members. Now the steel industry is long gone, but what remains is a great medical system that was essentially founded by those unions.

Moral of the story? If you're a worker in a dirty, dangerous industry, you can either vote for someone like Trump who will gut your healthcare and strip you of government protections, or you can form a union and get the protection you deserve.

[–] BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz 42 points 3 days ago

Be COMPASSIONATE to these People! They thought Trump would ONLY Harm Gays and Brownies and NOT them! An HONEST MISTAKE!

[–] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 34 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The leopards are eating sooo well

[–] notabot@piefed.social 21 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I am very worried about the leopards' health right now. They're massively overeating, and getting very little exercise between meals. I hope the American people will have the sense to stop feeding themselves to them sometime next year.

[–] tburkhol@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

Good news, then: Ozempic about to get cheap.

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[–] julysfire@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

Get what you voted for

[–] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I don’t know how to feel about this.

These people have been left behind, and the one guy who said he was on their side is the biggest grifter and fraud in generations.

They had over 8 years to figure this out, but cognitive dissonance and constant programming via right wing media are strong.

[–] Credibly_Human@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Coal causes so much fucking harm to this world.

It, alongside OIL and lead have to be some of the all time greats in terms of materials causing harm.

[–] Insekticus@aussie.zone 2 points 2 days ago

And their derivatives. Plastic is definitely up there, but kinda comes under oil.

[–] inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 17 points 3 days ago

You can't always get what you want but if you vote MAGA, you'll get what you deserve.

[–] Sunflier@lemmy.world 13 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I guess black-lung county voted to die. May they have the day they voted for.

[–] blahblahblah@lemmy.zip 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They voted for bigotry, sexism, and Christian nationalism but ended up getting burned. Fuck’em. I have no sympathy.

[–] Sunflier@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's cathartic to watch them suffer.

[–] Credibly_Human@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

The unfortunate thing is marginalized people suffer the most, so most of them are more than happy with the sacrifice.

[–] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago

On one hand, yes, on the other hand, I pity their stupidity that made them think trump was what they needed to fix their problems.

[–] Zedstrian@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The same idiots voted for Trump again after having seen Trump do nothing to help them in his first term, so they're just getting what's coming to them.

Double lung transplants? Before 45? In this country? In one of the most impoverished parts of the country?

I can name maybe 5 people who deserve that. The average idiot who believed a psychopathic liar doesn't deserve that.

[–] guyoverthere123@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Awww, such a shame.

They're getting what they voted for (no sarcasm)

[–] Sunflier@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

It can be a little sarcastic.

[–] hume_lemmy@lemmy.ca 14 points 3 days ago

Someone should tell these guys that we know their guy won the election, they can stop bragging about it.

[–] blattrules@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago

It’s terrible that Trump is going all in on coal and oil while also cutting back on the regulations that keep these people safe. At least they’re not working on windmill farms that are really hazardous to their health though. /s

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

Wow. I had a great-grandfather that died of black lung. Before I was born. When I was told this as a child, I never would have imagined I'd be reading about it still happening in 2025.

When I think about the race to get to renewables and the race to fully automate things like coal mining from end-to-end, and I see how people like Pedonald and his supporters cling to these lionized versions of coal mining as a vocation, that phrase about "who wants to be the last American killed in Vietnam" comes to mind...

[–] BetaBlake@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago

Who could have ever seen it coming

[–] Justas@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 days ago

Silicosis is a horrible way to go.

[–] OldChicoAle@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago

They should complain to dear leader

[–] wabafee@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

He clearly needs more black lung. I think the government should cut the guardrails entirely who cares about those, just extra cost. This people will vote in a heartbeat anyway.

[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I understand that in many coal mining towns, there really isn't much other work than the mines due to a litany of historical and economic factors. If working in a toxic environment that is going to kill me in order to dig up a bunch of rocks that are killing the world is the only option, do it temporarily and save up enough money to leave?

I get that doing that is easier said than done, but it really seems like miners are completely dependent on electing republicans into office to keep their dying industry hobbling along. Then, the Republicans they elect act like Republicans and all of the miners go full surprised Pikachu that the mines get less safe due to removal of regulations. This cycle has been repeating for years. At some point, you have to stop doing the same thing and expecting different results.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

There’s a lot of remediation, construction and maintenance work that the same skill sets apply to. It’s a matter of funding restoration instead of destruction.

But they’ve been told that for decades and don’t want it.

[–] ReallyActuallyFrankenstein@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

The push for reeducation instead of funding for coal is one factor that likely sank HilDog's 2016 campaign. The debate on their side never got past "Me, change? No, you change!"

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