King Talk: I have been in Boone County, West Virginia this week talking to residents about the decline of the coal industry in the region. I met Bryan Dunlap at the end of his shift. He works for Patriot Coal a company that has been in bankruptcy twice this year. They are about to be bought by Blackhawk a non-Union coal company based in Kentucky. EPA regulations and cheaper gas alternatives have both played a role in the decline of coal in central Appalachia. Those still lucky enough to have a job in the mines struggle with the constant fear of layoffs. For Dunlap this sale will once again put his job in jeopardy. I've come to hate writing captions. I don't like telling people how to read an image. Historically captions have done a lot of damage to the nuanced representations of people. When we collapse and push images and text into an agenda it narrows our ability to have a unique relationship to those we do not know. I also hate some of the insensitive comments people share beneath the photographs. I do find it fascinating to read how people interpret the image but much of the time I am appalled by the narrow minded judgmentalness that comes from an entrenched desire to utilize the photograph to stereotype and pigeonhole complicated lives. I want to find a way to utilize this medium to push beyond that but right now I feel at a loss for how to share the image and narrative of the struggle of towns effected by the decline of coal without opening up the subjects of these photographs to insensitive commentary. #identityUSA Photograph by @stacykranitz by everydayusa