We can boycott, too. Join the boycott of Burlington Airport to stop the Boycott Five!
Who are the Boycott Five? The Vermont Governor, the 3 members of the Vermont Congressional delegation, and the Burlington Mayor. All are boycotting democracy, rule of law, and human rights.
1. All 5 of them are boycotting democracy--foisting F-35 jets in a city location while disrespecting the overwhelming vote of the airport owner, the people of the City of Burlington. In a referendum on the ballot in 2018 a large majority voted to "request the cancellation of the planned basing of the F-35 at BTV and request instead low noise level equipment with a proven high safety record appropriate for a densely populated area."
2. All 5 of them are boycotting representative democracy--foisting F-35 jets in a city location while disrespecting the overwhelming votes of the city councils of Burlington, Winooski, and South Burlington to support the Burlington voters' requests. Also ignoring the vote of the Vermont Senate to prohibit the basing of nuclear bombers in Vermont.
3. All 5 of them are boycotting the military's own laws of war, including "distinction," that makes positioning military forces adjacent populated areas illegal and that makes "human shielding" a war crime.
4. All 5 of them are boycotting the governor's stay-safe-stay-home order they claim to support. The governor's order only allows what is “essential.”
• F-35 flights in a city are not essential to fight the coronavirus.
• F-35 operations are not essential to support front line workers.
• F-35 jets cannot defend Vermonters from lack of PPE, lack of coronavirus tests, and lack of contact tracing.
• F-35 flights cannot defend Vermonters from the pandemic, unemployment, low wages, racism, a failed health care system, climate disaster, mega storms, cyber attack, nuclear missiles, terrorism, food insecurity, money in elections, abuse of women, abusive cops, or income inequality.
• Nor can F-35 flights protect workers, homeless, women, LGBTQ, African Americans, immigrants, refugees, or veterans.
• F-35 training flights divert from crucial missions the governor ordered Vermont National Guard members to accomplish to halt the spread of the virus.
5. All 5 of them are boycotting human rights and civil rights--the Air Force admitted that noise at the level of the F-35 can cause permanent hearing damage and impaired learning. Thousands of homes and 7 schools are in the Air Force designated noise danger zone.
6. All 5 of them are boycotting the constitutional right of Vermonters to the quiet enjoyment of our homes--358 responses to an "F-35 Report and Complaint Form" demonstrate that the F-35 flights are physically injuring Vermonters in the flight path.
7. All 5 of them are boycotting the truth--in denial of the injury the F-35 causes when based in a city.
8. All 5 of them boycotting the separation of powers--Boycotted is the US Constitution, which reserves to the states authority over training the National Guard unless and until they are called up for federal service. Vermont's Constitution makes the governor the commander-in-chief of the Vermont Guard. "It is long-settled law that the governor of each state has almost unbridled power over its militia" (The Air Force Law Review, Vol. 56, 2005, p. 245). The governor thus has full power to halt the F-35 training flights.
The Boycott Five foisted the dangerous F-35 jets in the most densely populated area of Vermont against the will of the people. Against the military's own law. Against the stay-safe-stay-home policy. Against human rights. Against constitutional rights. Against the truth. Against the law.
Tell the Boycott Five that we can boycott too!
Join the BTV boycott campaign by pledging to avoid using BTV for flights except for work necessities or personal emergencies starting now and continuing after the pandemic ends. The BTV boycott applies economic pressure to stop the dangerous F-35 flights in a city.
Spread the word.
The BTV boycott is the kind of legal, peaceful, and orderly action that the Boycott Five–the governor, the Vermont congressional delegation, and the mayor of Burlington–understand. A kind of action that has a long and storied history: used by New England colonists against abuses by a British king. By Montgomery bus riders. By California grape pickers. By apartheid abolitionists. Join the BTV boycott campaign to apply effective pressure to abolish F-35 training flights in a city.
Sign on to the BTV boycott campaign.
Thank you
Best regards,
Jimmy