Nearly two weeks have lapsed since a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed near the town of East Palestine, OH. Authorities feared an explosion, so they initiated a release of toxic fumes in order to neutralize burning cargo.

It did not go as planned. Animals are now dying, residents are terrified, while politicians and pundits spend their time pointing fingers at each others’ tribes.

On Wednesday night, the city held an open house which was designed to answer questions and allay fears. The crowd of people waiting to get in resembled lines you see outside of sporting events.

This line of folks outside East Palestine High School waiting for tonight’s Open House stretches down the block. A lot of anger & frustration here over the Norfolk Southern train derailment that sent cancer-causing chemicals into the air, ground, & water. pic.twitter.com/3BHxJ8vtkf

— Garrett Tenney (@Garrett_FoxNews) February 16, 2023

One blogger at the event reported that residents were determined to hold the government accountable. He tweeted the following:

First question: “why are the people outside of a one mile radius from East Palestine getting NO support?” Answer: “Because that’s what the Department of Transportation told us to do” Unbelievable.

U.S. Congressman Bill Johnson: We have found nothing in the air or water that will be harmful. East Palestine resident: “You all said the same thing about Ground Zero (9/11) too, and that was a lie!” The resident’s correct.

A little boy from East Palestine asks: “Why can’t I play in the creeks and outside because of that smell?” Ohio EPA answers: “It’s just a mixture of dead fish and chemicals!” The boy responds: “That’s not fair!

Other residents challenged the official health statements which said that “vinyl chloride in water or soil evaporates rapidly IF it is near the surface.”

They mean it evaporates like this? pic.twitter.com/A8blXjhHDp

— Z! DebKennedy091 (@LearnUSAhistory) February 16, 2023

But guess who didn’t show up? Norfolk Southern, the train operator responsible for the accident.

Train Company Pulls Out of Open House

A few hours before the East Palestine open house opened, Norfolk Southern released a statement indicating that they would not be attending. It read in part:

Unfortunately, after consulting with community leaders, we have become increasingly concerned about the growing physical threat to our employees and members of the community around this event stemming from the increasing likelihood of the participation of outside parties. With that in mind, Norfolk Southern will not be in attendance this evening.

But not to worry, good people living in fear of the toxins in the air! Norfolk Southern says it’s “committed to East Palestine and will continue to respond to community concerns …” By golly, they even have set up a “hotline for citizens to ask questions regarding return to home and health questions.”

Screenshot/@MaxFilby.

Perhaps Norfolk Southern feared that they might have to answer concerns that some of their employees knew the train was dangerous. They feared that the company’s implementation of “Precision Scheduled Railroading,” or PSR, a management philosophy which uses technology to improve efficiency — and profits — would lead to accidents like the event in East Palestine.

Or maybe they feared having to answer why doorbell camera videos showed that the axle on one of the cars was on fire some 20 miles before the derailment. “Hot box detectors” which are placed at intervals are supposed to alert personnel. Yet the alert came too late, and the fiery axle led to the derailment.

Politicos and Pundits Point Fingers

Norfolk Southern might be trying to stay silent, but politicians and talking heads eagerly jump into the Blame Game.

Like Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who faulted the Trump administration for the accident. He tweeted:

We’re constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015), but we are using the powers we do have to keep people safe.

In response, Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) fired back in a statement:

If someone wants to play the blame game now, that’s their decision, but I’m going to stay focused on the residents of East Palestine and the tasks at hand.

Johnson also invited Buttigieg to Wednesday’s open house, but the secretary was a no-show.

Former Democrat Congresswoman, now Independent, Tulsi Gabbard blamed “people in power” for not caring.

Tulsi Gabbard on the absence of those in power following the toxic chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio:

"They're not there, and they're not paying attention to them because they don't care." pic.twitter.com/YdYPW3bBs3

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 16, 2023

And from the opposing tribe, Jon Stewart blamed Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Fox News’s Tucker Carlson for their “baloney” reaction to the train derailment:

He and and Tucker go on and they play act. They play act this concern for working people and populism. Meanwhile, everything that they put in place politically in their infrastructure is against regulatory improvements and help for working class people. It’s baloney.

And on and on it goes.

Meanwhile, the Train Derailment Destroys Lives

I don’t know if the people of East Palestine care as to which political party is responsible for the derailment. They worry about their health, and their futures. And they don’t believe what the authorities are telling them.

So while the governor is telling residents that it’s okay to drink the water, residents respond, “you first.” While the Ohio Departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture claimed they received no reports of dying animals, East Palestine residents report their animals are getting sick and dying. Approximately 3500 fish have died in four nearby waterways as well.

Then there are respiratory ailments among the residents, along with sore throats, irritated eyes, headaches. But that’s just the start: many of the chemicals in the train cars are potentially carcinogenic. No wonder some science writers have deemed the train derailment as having much in common with the Chernobyl disaster.

Who are the people of East Palestine going to believe: their leaders or their lying eyes? Or their irritated lungs or their throbbing heads? Moreover, do they really care which political party is most responsible? At this point, they just want their lives to return to normal — if that’s ever going to be possible.

Featured image: Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash/cropped/free for use.