Even in the face of tragedy so profound that the rest of the world has taken note, the deaths of nine firefighters in a Charleston blaze on Monday could not shake South Carolina media outlets from their phobia of the “union” word. God forbid they could stray from their Right-to Work scripts even when the story surely warranted a mention of the mobilization of International Association of Fire Fighters to support their brothers in South Carolina.
A search online for coverage of this major story reveals the clear bias against unions in this (red)neck of the woods. Newspapers in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Kansas, — even Manitoba and Australia, for cryin’ out loud — noted how the loss of these men has resonated in the brotherhood. Across the country, firefighters have been dispatched to Charleston to attend funerals and lend their support to their fallen comrades.
Anywhere else, such solidarity would be seen as a good thing, decent people standing by their own. Here? Not so much.