Letter: The rest of the Pratt & Whitney story

Graphic by Lori Deaton

On Nov. 23, WLOS produced a 2.5-minute segment on the progress of the Pratt & Whitney plant. While the information and footage of the plant were welcome, what was missing made the segment little more than a puff piece of promotion for the company.

Unmentioned were:

• The $100 million in subsidies provided by state, county and private sources, including the gift of 100 acres of free land from Biltmore Farms.
• The ownership of the company by Raytheon Technologies, the second-largest war corporation in the world.
• The intended production of engine components for fighter jets like the F-35 to be sold to Israel and Saudi Arabia for their genocidal attacks in Palestine and Yemen.
• The powerful effect on our climate emergency that comes from the aerospace industry that Pratt & Whitney is a part of.
• The threat to the French Broad from an industrial plant of this size and nature right on the river.
• The notorious reputation of war corporations to promise jobs that often don’t materialize or are misreported, and are not guaranteed to be for local residents.
• The secret decision-making that brought this plant to Buncombe County without adequate public discussion.

Reject Raytheon AVL is a local citizens group focused on exposing the rest of the story that was neglected by WLOS. Visit our website for more information: rejectraytheonavl.com.

— Ken Jones
Swannanoa

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5 thoughts on “Letter: The rest of the Pratt & Whitney story

  1. eastside_guy

    Stopping this plant won’t stop Pratt & Whitney from building these parts. That’s just not reality. If you are against the war machine lobby your congress person. They fund it.

  2. Voirdire

    well, there are are a lot of parts to this story… most of which is a lot more about our country, not little old Buncombe. There’s good and there’s bad here… but there is one essential thing we must bear in mind more and more each and every day. Despite our own homegrown insurrectionists and their many delusional supporters… we’ve got Russia and China to deal with. And deal with them we must at some not so distant point. Pratt & Whitney … ie Raytheon… are unfortunately essential components in this equation. Just saying.

  3. kw

    Maybe we could build lots of affordable apartments atop the Pratt & Whitney buildings for misplaced Afghans, Syrians, etc.
    And maybe also a jail cell or two for Meadows, Cawthorn, and their ilk.

  4. indy499

    It was a progress report, ken. Seems pretty obvious that in a progress report lasting 2 minutes you don’t go back to Orville and Wilbur. You report on what is new. Got it?

    I hope your little band spends lots of time telling each other how right you are. No one else cares.

    • Ken Jones

      Oh, a “progress report.” That sounds so benign and hopeful. Not like a spot ad for a war corporation masquerading as news. Yeah, I got it, Indy499. I wish you cared.

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