An open letter to anyone with the courage to publish it. 

    I am appalled, shocked, dismayed and disappointed at not only the events at our capitol Friday, March 16, 2007, but with the press coverage as well.  I was right beside Hillary Anne Hosta when she was arrested.  She was in no way behaving in a threatening manner.  She was simply targeted by the state police as the leader of the rally and was taken down with excessive and abusive force.  She was neither resisting nor bullying the police.  Tell me why five officers held her down with one officer’s knee on her neck and head while they handcuffed her.  Tell me why she was carried upside down by her handcuffs and feet while she screamed in pain when she was in no way able to resist even had she wanted to. 

    Is this Joe Manchin’s way of saying, “I’m not interested in your problem, leave my office”? Would he want the same treatment imposed upon himself or a member of his family?  What right does he have to order such treatment of our people?  There is no room in this state for a governor who refuses to listen, who refuses to discuss solutions to our problems, or for a governor who propagates violence against our citizens.  I thought there was a war on terror.  If we had used this much violence against Joe Manchin or the police, we would have been arrested as “terrorists”.

    I was there from the beginning of the rally at 10:30 AM and I witnessed these events personally.  The caption under the Saturday Charleston, WV “Gazette Mail” lead photo stated, “several people were arrested after they occupied Gov. Joe Manchin’s reception area…”  Whose reception area?  Let me be clear: That office belongs to the people of this state, not Joe Manchin.  In my opinion, it is Joe Manchin that is “occupying” the office of our Governor.  The dictionary defines governor as, “One who is responsible officially for directing [not dictating] the affairs, policies, and economy of a state, country, or organization.”  In this capacity, we as the great state of West Virginia, have no governor.  Joe Manchin sits in that desk, but he is not acting on behalf of his constituents.  The affairs of our state include the safety and well-being of it’s citizens - particularly those unable to care for themselves, such as our children. 

    As far as “policies and economy of state”, why does our state government continue to allow us to be abused in countless ways while giving away a finite resource?  Why don’t we care for our most precious resources: our land, our water and our people?  Why did Joe Manchin, a grown man, feel his need for security was worth enough to be absolutely abusive to the concerned citizens in the capitol Friday, and yet he won’t lift a finger for the real threat hovering over the students, staff and faculty of Marsh Fork Elementary School as well as every citizen downstream from the Goal Coal slurry impoundment?

    Many valid concerns have been raised consistently as to the threat posed by the slurry impoundment looming over Marsh Fork Elementary.  This is in addition to the botched tests regarding the air quality within this school carried out by unqualified individuals. Safety for the citizens should be a primary concern for the governor of any state.  I believe this qualifies as “directing the affairs”. When 170 million tons of coal leaves this state every year for an $8 billion windfall, why is it that we continue to be running neck and neck for the poorest state in the US?  Why do we have one of the poorest educations systems, the poorest health care systems and some of the worst roads?  Why are the five counties that produce the most coal  among the poorest counties in the nation?  Is coal really being that good of a friend to WV?  I don’t give a damn about free concerts, meeting a championship bass fisherman, or watching a football game with coal in its name if it means compromising the integrity of our state.  The Friends of Coal obviously don’t feel a need for coal to be a friend to WV. 

    The protestors assembled in the office of the governor may have been vocal, but they were never violent and never threatened anyone or anything. What has happened to our government that they forgot “government of, for, and by the people”?  The people of this state need to be the primary business of the Governor’s office.  Does Joe Manchin really believe that he is too good to meet with the citizens and discuss solutions to the real threats they face?  Or is he just too interested in appeasing King Coal and his cronies to remember that he took an oath to uphold our state and its people?

Manchin has obviously forgotten what the office of governor is all about.  If he believes the office of governor is there simply to neglect and abuse the citizens of our state, he and those occupying it need to leave our capitol building and take up residence with the out-of-state coal companies that also continue to abuse us.

    I was only 6 years old at the time of the Buffalo Creek Disaster in 1972, but I witnessed and photographed for myself the devastation at Inez, KY when a slurry impoundment broke there in 2000.  Two communities were destroyed overnight in an environmental disaster larger than the Exxon Valdez.  Not only were the communities covered with a toxic sludge many feet deep, but the groundwater (their source for drinking water) was forever contaminated by the toxins within this sludge as well.  It’s a known fact that the Inez Disaster and the Buffalo Creek disaster were both the result of gross negligence on behalf of the coal companies and the regulating offices of the government- a government charged with the protection of its citizens. 

    After their arrests, the protestors were released with part of the stipulation of their release being that they are not allowed to return to the capitol for protesting.  Which judge signed this order?  Is there no longer free speech in this country?  What happened to the right to peaceful assembly? The protestors were already in place when the police drew an imaginary line across the room and deemed it a “secure zone”.  The police knew very well that they were merely establishing an excuse to arrest the leaders and diffuse the crowd.  All this Post 9/11 talk of  “secure zones” leaves me sick and ashamed of our country.  It’s merely pandering to a bully in the White House who has been telling our country for the last six years that if we don’t play his way and give up our constitutional rights, we won’t be safe.  Now we are facing the same rhetoric from the governor’s office. The ultimate law of our land and our prize possession is our Constitution with its Bill of Rights.  Who upheld our civil rights on Friday?  Why should the guise of Joe Manchin’s security be enforced through violence against citizens while the safety of the citizens continues to be disregarded? Hasn’t he noticed that violence only begets violence? Are we now enemies of the state because we dare to stand up to an unjust and unresponsive system?  Isn't it ironic that the state police became angry and were allowed to use force and abuse to accomplish their means when the citizens didn't listen, but the citizens didn't and aren't allowed to use force to make Joe Manchin listen?  They asked Rosa Parks to move too.  Where would we be now if she had?  If the police are merely concerned with keeping order, why don't they show up at the sales racks at Wal Mart during the Christmas season?  Why don't they show up for a Pentecostal Prayer service?

    Deputy Cabinet Secretary Christy Morris says security is always a concern in the reception area, which a person can enter without going through any metal detectors.  “You don’t know who people are.  You don’t know what could constitute a threat to the governor,” she said.  Yet with no evidence of a threat, violence was leveled against the citizens of our state, while a real threat to our students was ignored.  In a letter from the Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King wrote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

    Countless folks suffered horribly and/or gave their lives for the cause of Civil Rights.  We owe it to them and to our future of personal liberty to not let this incident go unchecked.  The government must be accountable and responsive to the citizens.

    Joe Manchin, greater men than you have made grave errors in their public policy- many men who otherwise would have been great, period.  An extraordinary person is separated from an ordinary one based on his or her ability to recognize and acknowledge their mistakes, learn from them, and apologize for them.  Do you think you would lose face to admit a mistake?  Freedom is the right to be wrong, but not to do wrong.  What would it have hurt you to face the fact that people in your state are suffering, that they have counted on you for support, that they trusted you to assist them in their time of need.  Are you so comfortable in your mansion that you can’t (or refuse to) see the needs in your own back yard?  What would it hurt you to sit down with these folks and simply say, “I can see this is an issue of great importance to you and your community.  Let’s see if we can find a solution together”?  Instead, you ignored their pleas for your ear and then you backed them into an impossible situation and finally punished and abused them for it.  A great leader knows that respect is earned and never forced.  You have imposed your force on our people but you have not gained our respect.  Your actions and the brutality of your offensive police were unconscionable and have not proven your value and wisdom as a leader.  They have only proven that you can use force and hide behind laws and Post 9/11 “Security” rhetoric to bully your way out of what is a difficult situation for us all. My guess is that King Coal can have your audience any time he wants it.  I bet your police never threatened nor forced him to the floor for wanting your help.

    I recognize you are in a difficult situation.  The coal industry is counting on you for WV politics as usual while the citizens of this state are looking to you to be a leader.  We need a leader with a true vision for this state- a vision of what we can become, not merely a shadow of our past.  We all know that more coal is leaving this state per year than at any time in our past, and yet the true numbers of workers in the industry is a mere fraction of the numbers in previous years.  How is an industry that has left tens of thousands unemployed, wrecked our streams and rivers, stripped our forests, leveled our mountains, divided our communities and broken our morale good for us?  Why do you and most of the other politicians continue to allow our state to export billions of dollars per year in resources, but retain next to nothing for us?  We may be poor, but we are not stupid.  Environmental rights and human rights go hand in hand.  The coal industry has grossly violated both and continues to do so with your blessing and the blessing of the WV legislature.  Evil thrives when good men do nothing.

    If you remember history you will recall that even the greatest empires fell- every single one, from Rome to Enron.  Massey will fall as well, just like countless other coal companies.  Martin Luther King, Jr. said the arc of history may be long, but it bends toward justice.  No one lives outside this law- neither Massey nor Manchin. 

    If you are to be a leader of vision, learn also from other leaders of vision. It is an unfortunate fact this country was built on slavery.  Most politicians and the wealthy opposed the end of slavery.  They argued that our country couldn’t survive if we actually had to pay people for their labor.  And yet we did survive.  After slavery ended we fought for Civil Rights. Martin Luther King, Jr. was our leader, a man of vision and a man with a dream.  Many people (including politicians) opposed him and his dream.  They even used “the law” against him.  It was difficult, there were struggles, and there are still struggles.  But as a nation, as a people united under a constitution that guarantees rights and liberties to all humans created equal, and equal protection under law, aren’t we better for the hard times?  Aren’t we better for abolishing the human destruction wrought by slavery?  Aren’t we better now that we can begin to become a nation strong in its diversity? Can’t the same be true for our state?

    Also in the 1960’s, when JFK told the United States we should commit ourselves before the end of the decade to land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth, even the most brilliant engineers said it couldn’t be done until at least the year 2000.  But guess what? The people of this nation joined together with a common goal and saw to it that JFK’s dream became all of America’s dream and we saw it happen before the end of the decade.  A true leader challenges his people to greatness and does not impose their submission through the use of brute force while hiding behind the law or imaginary lines in the sand (or on the floor). Where is your vision, Joe Manchin?  What future do you see for our state?  Can you be a leader of vision, or are you satisfied with the tired old politics of coal first and people last?  Can you not see the parallels to the way our state continues to be held in thrall to the whims of King Coal?

    A simple tax of one penny per ton of coal would generate enough money in a single year to build an elementary school the entire state could be proud of.  The coal industry is responsible for this threat, it is the coal industry that should pay for the new school.  The citizens of Raleigh County should not be penalized any further for the actions of an irresponsible corporation or industry.  Further than that, if Don Blankenship cared as much for the kids as he says he does, he should put his money where his mouth is.  He should have built a new school last year rather than trying to buy a new legislature.  It would have been far cheaper and a much better public relations tactic.  Why don’t you ask him the next time he’s in your office?

    I believe in peace, Joe Manchin, and I believe it is possible for us to learn to work together even if we don’t always agree.  In this case, the safety and well-being of the students of Marsh Fork Elementary and the citizens downstream from The Goals Coal slurry impoundment are worth far more than your foolish pride and your obvious lack of respect for an environment that we all share and all rely on to survive.  Survival is a more far-reaching concept than simply a paycheck or even a re-election.  Even if you care nothing for our environment, you should hopefully agree that the human lives at stake are worth consideration and at least a moderate attempt at resolving this issue.

   

    We must have a vision.  As humans we have the amazing ability to create anything we can dream of.  So let’s dream.  Second, we must learn from our mistakes.  We have all made them, why not own up to them and learn and grow from them rather than continue to stumble over them.  And finally, let’s learn to roll up our sleeves and work together.

    My house is powered entirely by solar electric.  Is yours?  If I can do it, why can’t you?  Why can’t we all?  Why can’t we be progressive in this state and lead the way to a new energy economy- an energy economy that is good for the people and the environment?  Why don’t we adopt the policy of net metering and encourage folks to participate in their own destinies?  Why don’t we really support the exploration of new energies?  (And I don’t mean spraying kerosene on coal and calling it a synthetic fuel.)  Is it simply a matter of you not believing it’s possible or do you just simply not believe in the men and women of this state?  Are you like so many others out there who consider us the laughing stock of the nation?  Or can you find something to believe in from a state who lead the way in bringing about fair and just labor practices through the unions, a state who produced great writers, scientists, explorers, astronauts and test pilots, soldiers, heroes, mathematicians, musicians, artists and one of the leading authorities on our nation’s constitution- Senator Robert C. Byrd?  We have a lot to be proud of in WV. 

    Joe Manchin, why don’t you give us a leader, a true Governor, to be proud of as well?  Your first two steps need to be a public apology by you and each of your police officers that participated in Friday’s abuses (particularly to Hillary Anne Hosta and Larry Gibson) and a new and safe school for the children of Marsh Fork in their own community.  By the way, if I didn’t have any confidence at all in you, I wouldn’t have invested my time in writing this letter.  The people of this state are willing to work, Joe Manchin, and we are able to do far more than shovel coal and play the lottery.  Give us a challenge, share a dream with us, and stand not over us but with us.  Let’s build a state that is the envy of Planet Earth.  I believe in our people, Joe Manchin- do you?