Academic Altercation of the Day: A bizarre and violent outburst by a Florida Atlantic University student during a lecture on evolution was caught on camera yesterday and uploaded online.
According to Associate Professor Stephen M. Kajiura, the young woman, Jonatha Carr, became “increasingly belligerent” after he was unable to answer to her question, “how does evolution kill black people.”
He attempted to explain to Carr that evolution doesn’t kill people, but Carr refused to accept his response, and began ranting and raving before threatening to kill the professor and fellow students.
Kajiura was eventually forced to call the police. A follow-up video shows Carr being dragged into a police cruiser and tased.
Back in the classroom, Kajiura attempted to return to the lecture, but only half the students stayed to listen — and even they weren’t paying much attention. “No one could concentrate,” said student Rachel Bustamante. “Everyone gave up and started texting.”
This story is highly upsetting. Not too long ago, Jason Russell, a white male, exhibited erratic behavior on tape when he was vandalizing cars, masturbating and dancing naked in public. He has been portrayed as suffering from psychosis, or temporary manic behavior as a reaction to immense stress. At the time of his incident, Russel was taken to a mental health facility then released to treatment on an outpatient basis for his condition.
Here, a Black woman exhibits unusual behavior and instead of anyone probing for causory factors, she is cast as crazy, violent, and guilty. This video has gone viral and people are consuming as though it were a comedy special. The background of this woman has not been seriously considered or factored into the reasoning behind her actions. Then again, people do not seem to care about the reasoning. The gut reaction has been:
Black woman displays unusual, threatening behavior in immediate response to interaction with a professor…crazy, violent fool who should be made fun of and jeered without consideration of prior experience or life situations.
Jason Russell, a white man, displays unusual, potentially threatening behavior without an immediately identified causory agent…stressed, “temporarily” medically unstable leader that needs assistance, can be helped on an outpatient basis and has displayed actions that should be medically justified on major news networks.
Notice the difference?
Imagine if you were a POC and you have to LIVE this difference.
Further, her question “how does evolution kill Black people?”, was wholly logical.
Affirming that survival of the fittest and natural selection, two tenets of evolution theory, are valid concepts can and has lead to the justification of slavery, racism, ethnocentrism and genocide. It is not a coincidence that Black people have been on the receiving end of all those treatments. Even her question is being displayed as foolish, or nonsensical or ridiculous.
Take note people, this is what ingrained and blatant racial bias looks like.
“No Malcolm X in my history text, why is that? ‘Cause he tried to educate and liberate all blacks.
Why is Martin Luther King in my book each week? He...”
