This is a recording of Appalachian historian Barbara Ellen Smith’s 1981 article, “Black Lung: The Social Production of Disease.” It describes the history of black lung as a medical diagnosis and an occupational disease, and places decades of medical denial and dismissal of black lung in the context of the labor and class relations of twentieth-century West Virginian coal camps. Smith’s account ends with the successful worker-led effort to create a federal black lung benefits program, and contends that these efforts hinged in part on a radical redefinition of the disease itself. Read the full article online (jstor; drive).

Although it seems difficult to imagine now, for decades, coal miners who complained of respiratory problems after years of unsafe exposure to coal and rock dust were diagnosed with ‘fear of the mines’ or accused of malingering. Black lung was comparatively difficult to diagnose from an X-ray, and nearly all medical care available in the coalfields was provided by company doctors, who were incentivized to ignore or downplay the clear hazards of the mines. Only aggressive labor action, including a period of repeated UMW strikes during World War II, ended this approach to coal-related dust disease. The black lung movement offers valuable insight into how workers have responded to insidious workplace safety issues, a topic with obvious present force.

bogleech:

escuerzoresucitado:

hello 🐙

This is not anthropomorphization but genuinely something theyre known to do. I’ve heard divers say octopuses and cuttlefish get fascinated by hand gestures and will sometimes respond to them like. We probably do look like we have little cephalopods on the ends of our arms, to them. Like we’re always putting on a puppet show.

mrnargle:

whenever my program freezes

milksockets:

joan steiner in art to wear - julie schafler dale (1986)

there is no hot water in my apartment :( maintenance on call has declined to come out after hours for hot water, & i seethe with resentment

zegalba:

Alpine lotus leaf flower

goobersplat:

ALT

Iridescent Grizzly Bear Stickers

(Image ID: Four bear stickers. A brown bear standing, a gold bear sitting, a gold bear standing, and a brown bear sitting.)

misconceptionsofus:

17th century gold ring / engraved with a hare, a hound, a deer, a fly, and plants / inscribed on the inside “LOYALTE NE PEUR” (loyalty not fear)

my partner is in the second round of interviews (site visit) for a job in upstate NY & i am like, miserably looking for library jobs in the area. there are some but not many & while i am excited by the idea of Not Be Here Anymore i am just so nervous about getting a job. hate it. & even while i am doing this i am still terrifically & nonsensically invested in what’s going on at my current library. wish we could all afford to care less about working

laika-the-bitch:

parents should have fewer rights

fernscare:

some kinda swamp dragon

[ID: a watercolor, acrylic, and colored pencil illustration of an alligator-like creature with blue, purple, and reddish-pink scales. It has a pointed tail tip. It is holding a large star/sun in its parted jaws. It is surrounded by swamp tupelo leaves, fireflies, ferns, and waterlily leaves. The background is black.]

burins:

xochihuacoyotl:

ryanthedemiboy:

arctic-hands:

Hoopla, Overdrive/Libby Now Banned for Those Under 18 in Mississippi

Public libraries in Mississippi have cut off access to digital platforms like Overdrive and Hoopla to those under 18.

BOOK RIOT

I never want to hear conservatives go on about repressive censorship in China, North Korea, and Iran ever again

To be clear to those unfamiliar: these are the companies that libraries use to lend ebooks.

They are literally cutting off library access to minors.

date of article publication: July 7, 2023

two things stood out to me from the article: Mississippi’s age of consent is 16, so it’s apparently OK to have sex but not to read about it. (with parental consent, girls can be married at 15 and boys at 17; with parental consent and a judge’s approval, there is no minimum age for marriage.)

and also, this impacts physical access to materials too: in order to enforce the ban, the Vicksburg Library has fully deactivated cards belonging to 16-17yos until they can get a parent or guardian to sign off. for teens with unstable home situations or parents who work when the library is open or who simply won’t sign off, this means they can’t check out books at all. bleak! bleak! bleak!

mammutblog:

cunty bat

wildpiper:

Falkland, Scotland June 2023