> I'm pretty sure they know how coal is mined. They must surely have heard about the black lung disease and COPD
They do not, they have not, and they do not care. Those people livre purely in the world of words and rhetoric, where the only thing that matters is whether what you say gets a reaction out of people that will lead to you getting more power. Truth is what sounds good.
I know, as a rational educated person it is terrifying to realize that there are human beings who score 0% on the “cares about science and logic and history and truth” scales, but that is the beauty and horror of the human condition - there are many, many people out there whose thinking and mode of operation will be entirely alien to you.
> Can somebody explain the psychology behind these beliefs?
> Après moi, le déluge
That phrase is chilling, and perfectly describes what I've been feeling like where the society at large is heading.
Thank you for introducing it to me.