Tommy Johnson
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, three Palestinian students were shot at close range in Burlington VT while visiting one of their grandmothers. The shooting suspect identified as Jason Eaton, 48, originally of Syracuse NY, was arrested. The students were speaking Arabic and wearing Keffiyehs, the cultural symbol of Palestinian resistance when the shooter made his attack. One of the victims may never walk again.
The policing agencies have not come out and called this a hate crime. The political nature of the shooting is undeniable even though little is known about Eaton. The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms states that Eaton purchased the weapons legally in Vermont. Vermont, a deeply liberal state under the thumb of the Democratic Party has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the country, making it easy and cheap for anyone to purchase weapons legally and illegally.
Senator Bernie Sanders of VT stated “It is shocking and deeply upsetting that three young Palestinians were shot here in Burlington, VT. Hate has no place here, or anywhere. I look forward to a full investigation. My thoughts are with them and their families.” Sanders, a Zionist and US imperialist has a decades long history of arming and funding Israeli violence against Palestinians. He opposed calling for a cease fire in Gaza most recently stating that “I am not quite sure how you negotiate a ceasefire with a terrorist organization that is dedicated to perpetual war.” While the distinction between a tactical cease fire and an armistice is lost on Sanders, what emerges for anyone to see is a man drenched in the blood of Palestinians who does not want that blood splashing too close to his home in Burlington. After all, the thousands of students killed by way of “Israel’s right to go after Hamas” did not attend Ivy League schools in the US like the victims in the Burlington shooting.
