“ The rights of the people on top of the ground don’t amount to nothing compared to the rights of the man who owns what’s underneath. ”
Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions (1973). copy citation
| Author | Kurt Vonnegut |
|---|---|
| Source | Breakfast of Champions |
| Topic | right |
| Date | 1973 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://www.academia.edu/8146057/Vonnegut_Kurt_BREAKFAST_OF_CHAMPIONS_no... |
Context
“the old miner said to Trout, “that a man can own what’s underneath another man’s farm or woods or house. And any time the man wants to get what’s underneath all that, he’s got a right to wreck what’s on top to get at it. The rights of the people on top of the ground don’t amount to nothing compared to the rights of the man who owns what’s underneath.”
He remembered out loud when he and other miners used to try to force the Rosewater Coal and Iron Company to treat them like human beings. They would fight small wars with the company’s private police and the State Police and the National Guard.”
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