Elitist attitude, disregard for Guatemalans' lives and their intelligence prevails at University of Hawaii

Faculty chair tells professor to stifle his anti-GMO views

Welcome to America: the land of corruption, greed and human experimentation

(NaturalNews) Isn't freedom of speech a wonderful thing? The ability to say what's on your mind and freely express yourself is incredible, unless you're Hector Valenzuela, a professor at the University of Hawaii's (UH) College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. He's worked there for more than 20 years but has repeatedly been bashed for speaking against GMOs.Some of his colleagues have resorted to childish verbal attacks that insult his birth country, Guatemala. In that instance, they told him the country was "worthless," which was very hurtful; such words are brimming with racist undertones and imply that as someone born in that country, he is also worthless.Their harsh wording also suggests that native-born Americans are the only ones who understand GMO issues; their elitist attitude conveys that because he's Guatemalan, he should have no say in such matters. This completely discounts the fact that he's an educated, concerned man who has been living and teaching in Hawaii for decades. It's as if he is expected to sit back and take it, ingest GMOs and embrace a mentality that mimics Hawaii's courts and politics, which are known for repeatedly striking down anti-GMO efforts.Thoughts such as this, in which Guatemalans are considered subhuman and "worthless," are a disgrace to humanity. Sadly, it's been going on for a long time; an investigative report commissioned by President Obama found that horrific medical crimes have been conducted specifically against Guatemalans throughout the decades, including purposely giving them STDs illegally and without their knowledge under the guise of research. Thousands of them were used for secret experimentation by the government (including those from the National Institute of Health), and their rights were severely violated. It would appear that many of Valenzuela's colleagues are on board with similar thoughts that Guatemalans' lives and their beliefs are meaningless.In addition to hearing that the country he comes from has no value, his intelligence has been insulted and he's even been blatantly told to keep quiet on the topic of GMOs (unless, of course, he is going to praise the cancer-causing Frankenfood circus). For example, a UH co-worker once sent him an email urging him to stop talking against GMOs, writing, "Hec, please stop already. You're simply working so hard to prove what a scientific idiot you are about items like transgenes..." Although the human resources department said the email was inappropriate, no disciplinary action was taken.Another outrageous display against freedom of expression occurred earlier this year during his post-tenure review. UH professor Mark Wright, who is also the faculty chair of Valenzuela's department and an avid supporter of GMOs, told him that he could speak about his opposing GMO views during his "own private time but not as a faculty member."Although Valenzuela passed his review, it is no surprise that Wright has no recollection of his comments; he denies saying any such thing during the review. He does, however, maintain his stance that genetic engineering has done wonders for Hawaii's papaya industry and that GMO opponents are junk science groupies.Wright is likely thrilled by the corrupt actions of Judge Susan Oki Mollway, who prevented hearings from occurring that would stop Monsanto and Dow from continuing their untested, open-air experimentation involving GMO chemicals in Maui County despite the fact that a referendum was passed by residents last year. These voters are now left in limbo, their efforts intentionally thwarted by a woman driven by The System, Big Agrochemical and greed. This is human experimentation where people have no choice in the matter and their health is seriously jeopardized. Does this utter disregard for the value of lives sound familiar?Sadly, Valenzuela goes through life without knowing the next time his race, intelligence and beliefs will be attacked. "I know they're still trying to muzzle me," he says of the fact that he can't shake off the numerous times he's been told to stay quiet when it comes to anti-GMO discussions.Unfortunately, Valenzeula continues to experience what is quickly becoming the norm in America: academic one-size-fits-all (or whoever has the deepest pockets or largest secrets to cover up) teachings, a bowing of heads to mainstream media and a hypocritical system that goes to extremes, ordering us to keep our mouths shut but swallow the politics.