>Having grown up in Welch West Virginia, about 30
>minutes from Matewan, West Virginia, I dont know why
>that would get you martyr status. Class struggle
>was a lot clearer there and quite often school
>teachers were married to coal miners, or the principal
>had family that worked in the coal mines...If they did
>show that movie, it would teach them nothing new but
>rather confirm there experience.
Well, ask yourself why a state like WV would ever end up with a Republican governor (wasn't it the same dolt twice?). But you are right, West Virginia IS different than PA or VA. Still, a dramatic and fairly accurate portrayal of a violent episode in labor (or rather, anti-labor) history. Where I'm from (Chambersburg PA), that's dangerous. And I know quite a bit about the Alleghenies of PA, where politicians like Bud Shuster and the Heinzes reign.
Charles Jannuzi