Yesterday my son sent me a link to this podcast–very interesting history from an actual war involving what was called the “Red Neck Army” in 1921. The US Army had to step in, and this war (which I knew nothing of), involved thousands of people and included machine guns and bombs. There is a ton of interesting history in this podcast about coal mining, company stores, miner’s march, “Mother Jones,” and a variety of descriptions of appalachian coal mining culture leading up to the Battle of Blair Mountain.
The battle discussed by the museum director/direct descendent of a coal miner (who is also related to the Hatfields–and this family and the Tug River area is also mentioned). The usage of the term “Red Neck” as it relates to the battle is explained and the museum director states their aim to reclaim the term as a positive term, originally meaning “one who stands in solidarity with their brothers.” (There was a wearing of red bandanas.)
They mention how the workers were given company store credits and what that meant. History repeats itself, and the interviewer strongly remarked about the similarity to what we are facing today. (I believe his comment alluded to the push toward a paperless society and social credit scores/cryptocurrency/universal currencies…and interlinked corporate dominance controlled by goverment–this is my comment, not his.)
History is so important–this is fascinating!
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