Protests at L3 Harris are wrong-headed
Almost by definition, notions of Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) are selfish. The continued protests at L3 Harris are blatant demonstrations of NIMBYism. The idea of making Northampton “pure” by pressuring a company that makes military equipment leave is naive at best.
I am not a warmonger, but I am a realist. Acting as if our country doesn’t need military defenses is ludicrous. Having a military for national defense is as important as having an immune system to defend your body. Relocating where military equipment is produced changes nothing, except to reduce the numbers of jobs in our community. Yes, our country too readily resorts to war and our support of other nations’s military makes for a more dangerous world. But the idea of not needing a military echoes the “America First” isolation movement of the late 1930s. Imagine where would that have gotten us.
I applaud the energy and willingness of the protesters to educate our community and to stand by their convictions, but I suggest that they focus their energy on the many political, societal, and environmental challenges that pose real threats to our country.
Michael Miller
Northampton