On this day in 1898, the Battle of Virden began when armed members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) surrounded a train full of strikebreakers and exchanged fire with company guards. 13 people were killed, dozens more wounded.

After a local chapter of the UMW began striking at a mine in Virden, Illinois, the Chicago-Virden Coal Company hired black strikebreakers from Birmingham, Alabama and shipped them to Virden by train.

The company hired armed detectives or security guards to accompany the strikebreakers, and an armed conflict broke out when armed miners surrounded the train as it arrived in town. A total of four detectives and seven striking mine workers were killed, with five guards, thirty miners, and an unrecorded number of strikebreakers wounded.

After this incident, Illinois Governor John Tanner ordered the National Guard to prevent any more strikebreakers from coming into the state by force. The next month, the Chicago-Virden Coal Company relented and allowed the unionization of its workers.

“When the last call comes for me to take my final rest, will the miners see that I get a resting place in the same clay that shelters the miners who gave up their lives on the hills of Virden, Illinois…They are responsible for Illinois being the best organized labor state in America.”

Mother Jones

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  • Hohsia [he/him]
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    1110 months ago

    Wild to me how a hurricane will fucking tear miles and miles of a golf course to shreds and instead of being a wake up call into how much of a waste of land that is, the powers that be are shipping in people from all over to assist in the restoration efforts

    Death to America

  • HarryLime [any]
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    310 months ago

    Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant earlier today: “Put everything on the Mets beating the Dodgers in Game 1. It’s a sure thing.”

    • TerminalEncounter [she/her]
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      910 months ago

      Weed is legalized where I live and yes, it becoming dominated by corporate interests is an issue, but I do NOT miss putting up with dealers. Gotta hang out for an hour and toke if I just wanna buy an eighth or “oh yeah I’m just around the corner” sent 45 minutes ago

      • GalaxyBrain [they/them]
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        510 months ago

        I’m split. It’d legal here but the prices aren’t competitive and from wastewater studies we’ve been the most stoned province in the country before legalization, so everyone already had dealers. The stores charge twice for a oz than you could get elsewhere, ignored the 3/$25 rule so the smallest amount they sell is 3.5g for $35 damn dollars. An oz is $60-80 nowadays elsewhere.

      • AmericaDelendaEst [comrade/them]
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        610 months ago

        Yeah for real. Usually this guy is reliably quick and the trade off is he charges way too much but i guess not everyone is perfect. This is maybe the second time he’s been this late in like a year

  • Grownbravy [they/them]
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    510 months ago

    getting through my film backlog, then started thinking it’s time to re-up, i see the local photography store is closing for a week after wednesday, but worse, my preferred filmstock isn’t available and might not be in stock until after they reopen.

    I wanna shoot 400 speed film rn deeper-sadness

  • Caruna [he/him]
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    10 months ago

    Feeling stressed? Love to dance? Come join us at the rave of the year.

    Make a right just before the concentration camp of the subhuman people who we oppress and join us at our annual peace and love festival ✌️

    • Frank [he/him, he/him]
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      1110 months ago

      The Rave act spomsored by joe biden drove mdma out of drug markets leading people to use meth as an alternate party drig in this essay i will…

        • GalaxyBrain [they/them]
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          510 months ago

          Meth in pill for is a lot different from smoking crystal meth. Also chemically they’re almost the same thing.

          • anarcho_blinkenist [none/use name]
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            10 months ago

            “chemically almost the same thing” means actually nothing. Water and hydrogen peroxide are “chemically almost the same thing.” These are not even close to the same compound, and drinking one vs the other does not have the same effect or risks interacting with your body’s biological systems.

            Don’t just look at a picture of the abstracted chemical structure and go “yup!” Talk to pharmacists and especially pharmacologists about how compounds impact your body and interact with its systems and neurotransmitters and receptors, how the compounds are are processed and broken down and through what pathways, and how those broken-down components also interact with neurotransmitters and receptors and impact your body. Just the serotonergic difference alone between these two compounds is monumental and incredibly dangerous and irresponsible to ignore, let alone the many other differences and associated symptoms and risks.

            And different routes of administration has different effects and risks with any compound, but it is the same compound and share many of the same problems — as well as even if it did not with you, in many cases can and does lead to normalizing use toward other more variously-hazardous routes too; and it is irresponsible and dangerous to hand-waive one vs the other where impressionable people might think one is fine vs the other isn’t, when they are both still meth. Your business is your business, but please consider the impacts of your actions and whether your personal experience as a user means you have expertise studied enough on on topics before speaking on them like this.


            Anyone else reading, don’t do meth. Anything you or your friends ever do choose to use, no matter what you think it is, buy testing kits and test BEFORE USING, especially these days. Even if you think you know what’s in it, you don’t and it not worth the potential forever-consequences to guess. Even then, pure MDMA can be very damaging for your brain to use with frequency on a recreational basis; the guideline I always heard was absolute maximum 3 times a year if that to be safe about it. I would honestly say no less than half a year between. You only get one brain. And always make sure you are accounting for hydration and body temperature and taking breaks from activity.

            Mixing (most things) with alcohol is very ill-advised; especially because of the aformentioned brain-strain and hydration and body temperature issues. But critically NEVER mix with antidepressants or medications with SSRI/SNRI/MAOI effects because you could die in a horrible agonizing way from serotonin syndrome. Always always always look at interactions, even with stuff you are prescribed or get over the counter. I’ve had doctors give me medicines with horrible interactions without them even being aware. And don’t take any “it’s basically/almost the same chemically” at face value. Body chemistry is insanely complicated, and two compounds looking “almost the same” is beyond gibberish when it comes to practical realities of the compounds. Water and hydrogen peroxide are “almost the same.”

      • GalaxyBrain [they/them]
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        510 months ago

        They’re chemically super similar. I also genuinely prefer meth (not big on smoking it but will rail i

  • Wmill [they/them]
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    1210 months ago

    I don’t like how whenever I’m holding nuts I get a powerful urge to swallow then. I know I can’t digest metal and my body will fight me on getting them down but I wanna try still

      • someone [comrade/them, they/them]
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        10 months ago

        I just realized that most people here are probably too young to understand the… inspiration for the name. I’m getting old.

        And by inspiration I mean her big yellow-jumpsuit-clad boobs.

        Volcel police will never take me alive!

  • Rojo27 [he/him]
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    410 months ago

    I might just have to get serious about finding myself a primary doctor. Kind of worried about these energy crashes I’m going through the past few days. Then again it could just be the changing of the season and I’m edging close to my usually wintertime depression thingmakima-think