<p>Midmo: I thought it might be because mining is definitely not “white-collar work” (I once heard miners described as “black-collar” workers.) Let’s not forget that not that long ago people who “worked with their hands” were considered lower class by definition. (Jack Kelly, father of Grace Kelly, wasn’t allowed to enter Henley (crew regatta) because he wasn’t a gentleman–he was a bricklayer <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Kelly,_Sr[/url].”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Kelly,_Sr.</a>.) (I had the pleasure, in high school, of rowing on the same crew team with Kelly’s granddaughter.)</p>