Thursday, July 30, 2015

Time To Stop Talking And Start Acting!




It’s time to face some unpleasant facts.  No matter how much we try to kid ourselves with rah-rah, cheer-up messages, we’re not winning the war against GMOs—we’re losing it.  With the passage of the DARK Act and the imminent passage of the TPP, we are left more powerless than ever.  The belief that GMO advocates are “pro-science” and anti-GMO people are “anti-science” is being ever more strongly reinforced by the mass media.  The truth is obvious.  Traditional channels of protest and trying to spread information just aren’t working any more.

That is why we have launched the first of a series of targeted actions.  A target can be anything—a pesticide, a person or organization that supports GMOs, a demographic at risk from GMOs (pregnant women, nursing mothers, over-65s…), an industry involved with GMOs in any way…There is literally no limit on the form a target can take, consequently there is no limit on the form a targeted action can take.  But all such actions must have specific goals that are realistically achievable within a period of weeks or months, rather than years, decades, or never.

Our first targets are the agriculture departments of American universities. Our goals are to prevent them from discriminating in any way against faculty members who take anti-GMO positions, obtain restitution for those already discriminated against, and wherever possible force changes in the policies of such departments to reduce or preferably remove policies that favor GMOs at the expense of other farming methods.
We have already begun action at the University of Hawaii (see the blogsite smokinggmogun.blogspot.com for information and continuing updates).  We will initiate new actions at universities nationwide and even internationally.  Many agriculture departments have been taken over by GMO advocates. That’s one of the factors, and a big one, that has supported their Big Lie—that they have science on their side—so if we can reduce or eliminate their influence in academia, we will have shifted the whole balance of power.

Through a series of targeted actions we simultaneously do several things.  One, our opponents have crafted very sophisticated means to nullify traditional forms of activism; targeted actions, by using innovative techniques to attack a variety of unexpected targets in unexpected ways, can overcome the elaborate defenses they have built against traditional forms of activism.  Two, we make news, and thus force a reluctant media to take notice of us, opening the way for further education of the public.  Three, such actions provide plentiful opportunities for sympathizers to convert themselves into activists by doing; doing, rather than merely reading and reacting, provides the individual with a sense of accomplishment and reinforces commitment, even if the task done might seem easy and trivial—supplying the organizers of an action with some scrap of needed information, for instance, or joining hundreds or thousands of others in a concerted action on social media.  Four, through a synergy of all these factors, we can gradually build a critical mass of dedicated activists that will be too strong for even governments to resist…

IF, and ONLY if, you are ready to help us.

HOW YOU CAN HELP IN TARGETED ACTIONS
It’s impossible to foresee all the ways that might arise, but here are some:

1) Let us know the form(s) taken and extent of the influence exercised by Monsanto and other seed-&-pesticide corporations (Syngenta, Dow, BASF, Dupont-Pioneer etc.—henceforth SAPCs) in your university (or any other with which you are familiar).

2) Let us know of any cases of discrimination or victimization (including but not limited to firing, suspension, demotion, denial of tenure or promotion, verbal or physical harassment, hostile work environment, suppression of scientific evidence, curtailment of free speech rights…) affecting faculty in your university (or others) as a consequence of their opposing or criticizing the activities of SAPCs or any practices associated with SAPCs.

3) Volunteer to organize and lead an action against SAPC influence in your university similar (but not necessarily identical to) the action currently in progress at the University of Hawaii, or provide us with the names and email addresses of any persons who you believe might be willing and able to organize and lead such an action.

4) Should such an action begin in your university, support it in any way you can.

We will gladly offer help and advice to anyone who contemplates such an action.  You can contact us at the email address given top right of the screen at
smokinggmogun.blogspot.com or as a comment on the latest post in that blog.  All comments must be moderated before publication, so your letter will never be published but will be removed immediately from the site and stored in absolute privacy. All communications will be answered as quickly as possible.

We look forward to hearing from you.

1 comment:

  1. Excellent! Thank you for taking action. I am out of university now, but I'll check into your site form time to time and do all you ask of the general public to help. I am so sick of Monsanto and cronies claiming toxic seeds brimming with carcinogens are "science-based" because the chemical giants have used huge grants to buy influence in our universities. Jon Rappoport certainly shares our views -- I hope you are aware of him. He has written often about the pesticide industry's activities in Hawaii, as well as called for universities to kick Monsanto out! You'll love his blog if you haven't already read it:
    https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/open-letter-to-alt-news-sites-everywhere-re-monsanto/

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