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The early 1900s were a time of great social upheaval in our country. During the years leading up to the Ludlow Massacre, miners all around the country looking to make a better life for themselves and their families set up picket lines, organized massive parades and rallies, and even took up arms. Some died.

It’s always worth considering why history like this was never taught in school before. Could it be that the powers that be would rather keep this kind of thing under wraps?

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Here is Woody Guthrie’s tribute to the good people who fought in the battles of Ludlow to help make a better tomorrow for everyone — you can just start the video and then start reading, if you wish:

Coal Country, Colorado

100 years ago, the Rocky Mountains were the source of a vast supply of coal. At its peak, it employed 16,000 people and accounted for 10% of all employed workers in the state of Colorado. It was dangerous work; in just 1913 alone, the mines claimed the lives of over 100 people. There were laws in place that were supposed to protect workers, but largely, management ignored those, which led to Colorado having double the on-the-job fatality rate of any other mining state.

It was a time of company towns, when all real estate, housing, doctors, and grocery stores were owned by the coal companies themselves, which led to the suppression of dissent as well as overinflated prices and an extreme dependence on the coal companies for everything that made life livable. In some of these, workers couldn’t even leave town, and armed guards made sure they didn’t. Also, if any miner or his family began to air grievances, they might find themselves evicted and run out of town.

The Union

The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) had been organizing for many years in the area, and this particular company, Colorado Fuel and Iron, was one of the biggest in the West — and was owned by the Rockefeller family, notoriously anti-union.

Put all this together, and it was a powder keg.

Strike!

When a strike was called in 1913, the coal company evicted all the miners from their company homes, and they moved to tent villages on leased land set up by the UMWA. Company-hired guards (aka “goons”) and members of the Colorado National Guard would drive by the tent villages and randomly shoot into the tents, leading the strikers to dig holes under their tents and the wooden beams that supported them.

Why did the union call for a strike? The workers wanted:

1. (equivalent to a 10% wage increase),
2. Enforcement of the eight-hour work day,
3. Payment for “dead work” that usually wasn’t compensated, such as laying coal car tracks,
4. The job known as “Weight-checkmen” to be elected by workers. This was to keep company weightmen honest so the workers got paid for their true work,
5. The right to use any store rather than just the company store, and choose their own houses and doctors,
6. Strict enforcement of Colorado’s laws, especially mine safety laws.

The Powder Keg Explodes

The attacks from the goons continued, as did the battles between scabs (strikebreakers) and the miners. It culminated in an attack on April 20, 1914, by company goons and Colorado National Guard soldiers who kidnapped and later killed the main camp leader and some of his fellow miners, and then set the tents in the main camp ablaze with kerosene. As they were engulfed, people inside the tents tried to flee the inferno; many were shot down as they tried to escape. Some also died in the dugouts below the burning tents. In the first photograph below, two women and 11 children died in the fire directly above them. A day that started off with Orthodox Easter celebrations for the families became known as the Ludlow Massacre.

The 10-Day War

The miners, fresh off the murders of their friends and family members, tried to get President Woodrow Wilson to put a stop to the madness, but he deferred to the governor, who was pretty much in the pocket of the mine companies.

So the miners and those at other tent colonies quickly armed themselves, knowing that many other confrontations were coming. And they went to the mines that were being operated by scabs and forced many of them to close, sometimes setting fire to the buildings. After 10 days of pitched battle and at least 50 dead, the president finally sent in the National Guard, which promptly disarmed both sides.

Union Victory

While close to 200 people died over the course of about 18 months before and after the battles at Ludlow and the union ultimately lost the election, the Ludlow Massacre brought a congressional investigation that led to the beginnings of child-labor laws and an eight-hour workday, among other things.

But it also brought national attention to the plight of these miners and their families, and it showed the resilience and strength that union people could display when they remained united, even in the face of extreme corporate and government violence. Historian Howard Zinn called it “the culminating act of perhaps the most violent struggle between corporate power and laboring men in American history.” And the primary mine owner, John D. Rockefeller Jr., received a lot of negative attention and blame for what happened here.

This article was written by Brandon Weber and originally appeared on 08.14.14

Belinda Hankins and her 13-year-old daughter, Bella, seem to have a great relationship, one that is often played out over text message.

Sure they play around like most teens and parents do, but in between the joking and stealing of desserts, they’re incredibly open and honest with each other. This is key, especially since Melinda is a single parent and thus is the designated teacher of “the ways of the world.”

But, wow, she is a champ at doing just that in the chillest way possible. Of course, it helps having an incredibly self-aware daughter who has grown up knowing she can be super real with her mom.

Case in point, this truly epic text exchange took place over the weekend while Bella was hunting for tampons at the store.

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Here’s how Belinda introduced it on Facebook:

“THIS was the highlight of my parenting week. Sending my 13-year-old daughter into the store for (whispers) ‘feminine hygiene products,’ and having the following text exchange.”

Let’s give this the fanfare it deserves.

Act 1: The “right” aisle.

Every woman, whether she’s 13 or 30 has said or thought “THEY’RE NOT HERRREEEEEE” while standing in an aisle, desperately searching for period products. It’s like they’re trying to make it a scavenger hunt for which we did not sign up.

Act 2: Everything is a lie.

Act 3: Success! Well, sort of.

That’s right, Bella. Vagina, like Voldemort, is a word some people refuse to invoke because they’re terrified what great, untamed powers doing so might unleash.

Act 4: The truth.

Only a truly great mom could put this in such a way that inspires laughter and fist-pumping agreement at the same time.

Act 5: Smash the patriarchy!

A brilliant conclusion, mom/daughter solidarity AND an accurate map that illustrates what women encounter on a daily basis? If this exchange were a stage play, it would receive five stars.

And many others have agreed; the Facebook post has already been shared over 57,000 times in just two days.

So hip-hip-hooray for moms like Belinda who are candid with their kids on issues big and small and teach them how to be strong using humor and real talk.

The more hilarious conversations like Belinda’s and Bella’s about vaginas and the patriarchy that there are in the world, the better.

This article originally appeared on 09.14.16

Ever fallen into one of those Internet dating quizzes? You know, the ones that promise to categorize you? Like “what your astrological sign says about your relationship style.”

They can be fun, but we all know they’re mostly fluff.

What if I told you someone did find a way to “categorize” your love style but with actual real science?

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Three relationship scientists asked about 400 couples to track how they felt about their relationship and how committed they felt to marrying their partner. They followed each of the couples for nine months. Not, like, literally followed them — that would be creepy. Instead, they just asked them a few questions and asked them to keep track of how committed they were feeling over time.

At the end of the nine months, the scientists collected all the couple’s responses and delved deep into the data. They found that couples did indeed tend to fall into one of four categories.

Prepare yourself for some soul searching because you might just be:

1. The Conflicted, but Passionate

This is the couple Facebook made the “It’s Complicated” relationship status for. Their levels of commitment tend to go up and down over time, especially after arguments. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. These folks use those conflicts to help them make decisions about the relationship, and in fact, they didn’t appear to be any more destined for a breakup than any of the other groups.

Also, as a bonus, they tend to follow those turbulent downs with passionate ups. “These couples operate in a tension between conflict that pushes them apart and passionate attraction that pulls them back together,” said study author Brian Ogolsky.

2. The Partner-Focused

If your idea of a perfect date night is a long walk followed by eight hours of binge-watching “House of Cards” together, you might fall into this category.

Partner-focused couples tend to spend a lot of time together and share hobbies or leisure activities, and it’s that shared time that tends to propel them forward. They tended to be more careful and thoughtful about their relationship decisions — more likely to build from the inside out — and tended to be the most satisfied overall.

3. The Social Butterflies

On the other hand, if your perfect evening with your partner involves grabbing all your friends and hitting the bars or breaking out Settlers of Catan for the hundredth time, this might be the category that best describes you. Social couples usually share a friend group and use that time spent with friends to inform and build their relationship as a couple.

“Having mutual friends makes people in these couples feel closer and more committed,” said Ogolsky. They also tended to be pretty stable and have higher levels of love based on feelings of friendship toward each other, which can be a good indicator for long-term happiness.

4. The Dramatic

Unfortunately, not every couple’s path is easy. Things may start out good, but tend not to stay that way for dramatic couples. This type of couple tends to make decisions based on negative experiences or stuff from outside the relationship.

“These couples have a lot of ups and downs, and their commitment swings wildly,” said Ogolsky. “You begin to see little things eroding, and you start to see the relationship in a negative light, and soon you give up,” said Ogolsky.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, dramatic couples tended to break up the most, twice as much as other couples.

So what’s best? Well, here’s where this article differs from a lot of those Internet quizzes. Because the answer is that there isn’t a “best” kind of relationship.

Different couples work and grow differently. These are different pathways and it’d be a mistake to assume there’s a “correct” way to love someone. Or even that you’re forever locked into a certain style of relationships. “These are not predefined, for-life patterns,” said Ogolsky.

And even in a single relationship, these patterns aren’t predictors of destiny — a dramatic couple may, in fact, outlast a social one, and a partner-driven couple may be as passionate as anyone you could ever meet.

And the researchers willingly admit in their paper that their study doesn’t cover all relationships. Many very happy couples have no desire to marry, for instance. And, it should be noted, that it wasn’t too long ago that the U.S. didn’t even allow all couples to get married!

Wait, you’re not going to tell me how to find the perfect, golden, eternally-happy relationship?! Why even study this then?

Because, in our hearts, humans are social creatures, Ogolsky explained. Love, friendship, passion, and commitment are part of the human experience. Understanding relationships can be as important to understanding ourselves as studying chemistry or biology. They can even affect your health!

As for what you can learn from all this, the important takeaway is that what you use to make decisions — whether from conflict, from the inside, from the outside, or from friendship — can influence your level of commitment. It might be useful for couples to think not just about their choices but how they make their choices.

So … what’s your category?

This article originally appeared on 02.15.16

The concept of being an introvert versus an extrovert is a fairly new one. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung first came up with both terms in the early 1900s, and from the get-go, it was understood that people’s personalities generally fell somewhere between the two extremes.

Nowadays introverts are often mislabeled as being antisocial, which isn’t necessarily true. Going off of the Jung definition, introverted people simply orient toward their “internal private world of inner thoughts and feelings”—unlike extroverts, who “engage more with the outside world of objects, sensory perception, and action.”

Most introverts will tell you, it’s not that we hate people. We just find them … draining. What we tend to detest are things like trivial small talk and the cacophony of large groups. But even that, many introverts can turn on for, enjoy even … so long as we can promptly go home afterwards and veg out.

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Being introverted is certainly not unique—up to half of the entire population is estimated to be introverted. Heck, it’s even a trait for animals. And it’s certainly not a weakness. Many notable leaders were known for being reserved. However, the world is often made to favor extroversion, making it hard for introverts to be understood, let alone valued.

Reddit user Sarayka81 asked for introverts to share their “nightmare situations.” The answers are an eye-opening (and pretty hilarious) glimpse into how one person’s idea of normal, or even fun, can be another person’s torture.

Enjoy 15 of the best responses. Introverts, beware.

1. Public marriage proposals

“I’ve told every partner so far, if you propose in public I will turn it down.” – @AngelaTheRipper

“All those youtube videos of these big proposals, like a whole dance routine pop up…everyone is like ‘omg what a great gesture!’ No. no. no.” – fearme101

2. Afterparties

“You mean there’s more stuff to do after the stuff we planned on doing? I only have so much energy to deal with people and it was already used up.” – @Nyctomancer

3. Being picked out of the crowd to speak

“People who just raise their hand to be chosen are true heroes.” – @Chogolatine

4. Unexpected visitors

“As a child my worst nightmare was when my parents got visitors and I’m stuck upstairs hungry and thirsty because I can’t access the kitchen.” – @mikasott

“Ask them nicely, ‘would you kindly REMOVE yourself from my personal space.‘” – @GDog507

“But that requires talking to them.” – @StinkyKittyBreath

5. Introducing yourself

“I get locked jaw when this happens. Along with sweaty palms and cold sweat.” – @ellisonjune

6. Multiple conversations at once

“I was at a conference where everyone is doing the circle thing and I was chatting with some people about some interesting, but pretty dry, industry topics. All of the sudden I hear someone in another conversation circle say something along the lines of: ‘Yeah man, gorillas will rip your head off.’

All of the sudden, I can’t concentrate on my current conversation and my brain tunes into the gorilla conversation instead. I could not for the life of me tune back into my main conversation.” – @reAchilles

7. Running into someone you know in a public place

“All you want to do is read your book, but there’s no way out and you decide to put up a brave front. Already you can hear the office gossip in your head: ‘Oh my God, guess who I was stuck on the train with…’Nightmare fuel. Work from home was a blessing in this regard.” – @jew_bisquits

8. Singing “Happy Birthday” at a restaurant

“This shouldn’t be legal” – @Chogolatine

9. Surprise parties

“I’m essentially the 49th wheel at my own party. Kill me now.” – @Anneboleyn33

10. Being talked over

“Especially when the only thing the person interjects with is filler or exclamatory flurry that adds nothing to the conversation while stifling any other contribution. Things like ‘yes girl yes!’ or ‘I can’t believe that!’ or …even loud forced laughter – really any noise interjected in that space to make it seem like they’re contributing or listening instead of actually participating.” – @torn_anteater

11. Networking events

“Don’t forget to come up with a fun fact!” – @sub_surfer

12. Extroverts who just don’t get it

“‘Wanna hang out this Saturday?’

‘Sure!’

… Saturday arrives, 10 minutes before hangout time …

‘Oh also I invited my friend you have never met before to join us.'” – @drflanigan

13. Phone calls

“Receiving and twice as bad having to make one.” – @Isand0

14. Impromptu work presentations

“I need like a couple days to prepare myself for any speaking engagement lol.” – @koriroo

15. Party games that involve small talk

“‘Who’s up for two truths and a lie?’

Thinks … Can they all be lies? No … What are the most boring truths I can think of so no one comes up to talk to me after this?‘” – @littlewittlediddle

This article originally appeared on 09.16.22

LinkedIn is primarily a platform for working professionals to connect and find employment that aligns with their skills and values. With company layoffs continuing (even increasing in some industries) people have also used the website to courageously share their layoff experiences.

While the main intent behind this is, of course, finding a new job, there have also been some lovely displays of humanity that not only challenge the stigma of being laid off but show the power of a supportive community.

Take this heartwarming story, for example.

Patrick McCarthy, Communications Management & Marketing Leader, recently posted about a layoff that quickly went viral on the platform. Not for himself—for his father.

“This is Pete. He’s my dad,” his post began. “My dad lost his job yesterday. I would tag him here, but he doesn’t have a LinkedIn.”

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Pete, who has had a “starkly different professional journey” than his son, spent most of his life working in the service industry and absolutely loved interacting with customers. His empathy and knack for listening made him perfect for the role. Over his career, Pete had collected thousands of interactions from working at Walgreens, Fry’s, and (most recently) Winco, often being the reason folks came back.

And then, Pete was laid off. His job as a cashier, one that he loved and was good at, was gone.

“As anyone would be, he’s shocked. Overwhelmed. Scared. Emotional,” Patrick wrote.

Knowing his dad didn’t have the same network to easily find a new job, Patrick reached out on his behalf, wholeheartedly believing in the “magic” of the LinkedIn Community. He implored that anyone looking for a candidate with “a LOT of customer-facing, customer service, and service industry experience” send him a message so that he could put them in touch with Pete.

Patrick’s faith paid off—way more than he thought it would. In less than a week, the post was shared over 500 times, with over 600 comments from people wanting to help.

A manager at a nearby Sprouts grocery store said Pete sounded like a perfect match for a clerk position that could even pay his daily wage ahead of time. Another suggested he could be an excellent outdoor tour guide for REI. Someone else referred them to a weekly meetup group led by a career coach.

Even LinkedIn responded, writing, “Pete sounds like a top-tier employee! 💙 Keep us posted as he progresses on his journey, as well as any tips or insights either of you learn along the way—it may help those in a similar situation.”

Truly, Pete’s story already provides some helpful insight. While he might still be in the job-seeking phase, things certainly look more optimistic. And all it took (besides Pete being a lovely human being) was one simple, honest post. As Patrick told Upworthy, “Clearly something about his story connected with others. Humanity. Vulnerability. Empathy.”

The words “social media” and “job market” can elicit some pretty negative visceral responses. Of course, this viewpoint has some merit, but it’s refreshing to see the power of human connection break through the disheartening headlines. Here’s to Patrick and his father Pete, for reminding us that even when things seem bleak or uncertain, the world is full of people trying to help out one another.

This article originally appeared on 2.28.23

After the WGA strike ended a couple weeks back, it was widely expected that the AMPTP would quickly wrap things up with their picketing partners at SAG-AFTRA. Alas. Last week the studios abruptly broke off talks with the actors union, in a move its president Fran Drescher called “baffling.” Among the big issues is the use of AI, not only with actors but background artists as well. To behold the kind of horror SAG-AFTRA is trying to spare viewers, witness this clip from a Disney teen movie that recently went viral.

The clip is from Prom Pact, which dropped on Disney+ back in March. In a blink-and-miss moment from a basketball game scene, there’s quick cut to people cheering in the stands. Thing is, they’re not people at all. Their digital, and they look less like humans than broken automatons gyrating out of control.

Given the news of studios, like Marvel, scanning extras digitally without telling them how they’d use their likenesses, people understandably assumed they were AI monstrosities. The Hollywood Reporter are reporting, though, that they’re actually CGI creations made by VFX artists.

This is not a new practice. Ever since CGI started taking over the industry in the late ‘90s, filmmakers have used computers to create massive crowd scenes instead of wrangling hundreds of extras. More recent examples include shows like Ted Lasso and films like Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Of course, the results aren’t as glaringly embarrassing as they are in Prom Pact.

Even though the Prom Pact scene used CGI, it still stressed the importance of ensuring Hollywood studios don’t go down the slippery slope that is AI. In their latest offer to SAG-AFTRA, the AMPTP ensured that performers would need to provide written consent for digital doppelgangers.

(Via THR)

Last month, Lil Wayne dropped his latest album, Tha Fix Before Tha VI. But he’s not done. His long-awaited collaborative project, ColleGroove 2, with 2 Chainz, is still in the pipeline. However, one of the rappers might have revealed its release date.

According to Rock The Bells, on October 10, during a private filming organized by the platform, 2 Chainz said, “Me and Wayne’s album drops next month. This is a full circle moment.”

Last month, another major update was shared in Amazon Music Live’s season promotional video. As 2 Chainz sat down to discuss his forthcoming hosting responsibilities and the highly anticipated release. “We have two videos shot, photoshoot shot, [the] album’s mixed and getting mastered, so it’ll be coming sooner than later, and I’m really excited about it, he said. “It’s rapping at a high level — steel sharpens steel. And he’s one of the people that I enjoy working with the most.”

The joint venture was first teased in 2020. Unfortunately, allegedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was shelved. In March 2023, the duo revised the idea. 2 Chainz recently jumped on Instagram Live to announce the news.

“Two, three, for years, now working on this project, and I’m finally getting to the finish line of this project with me and Wayne, that I’m so excited to bring to the marketplace. I’m still learning stuff. I’m still learning things in this business. And one thing that I have learned in this process is that no response is the response.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CpfSZiRDm60/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Bad Bunny’s latest album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Mañana, is enjoying massive success. While some believe it includes several slight jabs at others, the musician was sure to show plenty of love to others. The official Stillz-directed video for the latest single, “Monaco,” shows that even a global superstar like Bad Bunny still fans out over other entertainers.

In the chorus (roughly translated), Bad Bunny raps, “Drinking a lot of champagne, we’re never dry / First came Verstappen, then came Checo / If Pablo saw me, he’d say I’m a beast / You’re talking shit while me and mine are in Monaco / Drinking a lot of champagne, we’re never dry / They’re talking to themselves, they’re talking to the echo / The sign of money that’s my new zodiac / I light a cigar, the family is in Monaco.”

The song’s sample of Charles Aznavour’s “Hier Encore” adds to the international appeal. We see how Bad Bunny’s luxurious lifestyle offers him plenty of perks, including the companionship of gorgeous women, mega-yachts, and fine dining.

At the end of the video, legendary actor Al Pacino sits down for a touching conversation with the musician. “You are doing great. You really are doing great,” Pacino says, adding that he’s “charging it up, and I’m enjoying it.”

“That’s what I’m doing, just enjoying life,” replied Bad Bunny.

They close their interaction by singing Traffic’s 1968 song “Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring,” whose lyrics contain the title of Bad Bunny’s album.

Watch Bad Bunny’s video for “Monaco” above.

Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Mañana is out now via Rimas Entertainment. Find out more information here.

Ye, formally known as Kanye West, has returned to X (formerly Twitter), but that’s not all he’s doing. According to Billboard, West has teamed up with “By Yourself” singer Ty Dolla Sign for a collaborative full-length project. The only thing standing in the album’s way is a problem with distribution.

Billboard reports West and Ty are looking for a new distributor deal for the forthcoming release. Billboard alleges that the musicians are fielding upwards of five offers from companies at the present moment and are leaning towards one favorable option. Initially, the entertainers’ goal was to share the collaboration with the public this past Friday, October 13. However, a deal wasn’t reached. So, they’ve moved the release date. They hope to drop the album before the year ends.

West and Ty have come together on numerous occasions in the past, including on the 2021 song “Junya Pt 2,” 2019’s “Everything We Need,” 2016’s “Real Friends” and 2014’s “Only One.” Before that, they worked together on Ty Dolla $ ign’s “Ego Death” (2020) and on West’s “Everything We Need” (2019), “Real Friends.”

West’s last full-length project, Donda 2, was exclusively released on his Donda Stem Player, developed in partnership with Kano Computing.

Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on live television at the 2022 Academy Awards, he did more than potentially destroy his career (right before he won an Oscar). He opened the floodgates about his marriage (if that’s what they call it) to Jada Pinkett Smith. The actress has a new memoir out, called Worthy. That means she’s on the press circuit, revealing thing like how Rock once asked her out when he thought she and Will were heading for Splitsville. She’s also shooting down some of the more wild rumors about her marriage.

As caught by Insider, Pinkett Smith did a revealing sit-down with Today host Hoda Kobt. They talked her extra-marital relationship with singer August Alsina, how the late Tupac Shakur was her “soulmate.” Kobt also brought up some other things people say about her and Will.

“You and Will probably have more rumors about you and talk about you than others,” Kobt said before highlighting some of them: “’They’re in an open marriage, they’re swingers, he’s gay, she’s gay.’ I mean a million things were out there.”

After saying those rumors don’t bother her, Pinkett Smith replied, “I would say that none of that’s true. I definitely can understand why there’d be misunderstandings.” She added, “But none of it’s true.”

During her book tour, Pinkett Smith dropped the bomb that she and Smith “separated” years ago without telling the public. That doesn’t mean they’re divorced. Still, Pinkett Smith shooting down claims that they’re in an open marriage or that they’re swingers, or that one or both of them are gay, does complicate some of the things the public does know about them, including her relationship with Alsina.

(Via Insider)