Last week, when a Wisconsin jury discharged Kyle Rittenhouse from the murder charges, that development discovered the progress of science, a Virginia university’s chemistry department recommended in a chain of online posts that at a minimum of one critic is taking down as improper “politicized rhetoric.”
The communications on the official Instagram handle of James Madison University also precisely consisted of a so-called “student takeover” video in which one of the JMU students sobbed on the “murdering” of “two beautiful Black lives” despite the jury confirming that actions by Rittenhouse came as self-defense and the two men who were deadly shot were both White as well.
On Saturday, just after the day of Rittenhouse’s discharge, the JMU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry posted a tweet, “Reminder: it is hard to focus on science if you are worried you might be legally shot or run over at a protest.”
Continuing further, the department took into account several shootings of Black men that the Black Lives Matter movement has caused as a result of rallying cries.
While considering the deaths of Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and Ahmad Arbery, the department added, “It is hard to focus on science if you are worried your loved ones might be killed getting Skittles, or selling cigarettes, or playing with a toy gun, or sitting in their apartment, or jogging, or wearing a hoodie.”
Adding “It’s hard to focus on science if you’re worried you might get deported or if your human rights depend on the outcome of an election. The fight for justice *is* a fight for science.”
5 Dead, Over 40 Injured After Car Drives Into Christmas Parade in Wisconsin: Police
From peacock channel host Amber Ruffin, a video has been also shared by the JMU chemistry department in which the host stated that acquitting Rittenhouse from all charges indicates that “the judicial system [is] blatantly and stacked against people of color.”
A video featuring student Deaquan Nichols has also been shared by the official Instagram handle of JMU.
Nichols spoke about “The verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse case,” in the video.
Nichols says “We scream ‘Black Lives Matter’ but it doesn’t matter enough for these people who are in power – the jury, the judge, anybody – to charge this man with murdering and taking away two beautiful Black lives.”
‘Political Propaganda’
The founder of the religious freedom nonprofit Hardwired Global and a Republican candidate for Congress in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, Tina Ramirez, also shared the Nichols video on Twitter and blamed the university for “pushing political propaganda.”
This was sent to me by a @JMU alum. It is a now deleted video from JMU’s Official IG account that not only criticizes Rittenhouse’s innocent verdict, but mischaracterizes the facts of the case, stating that “two beautiful black lives” were killed, which is false. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/EoJOJr0CUH
— Tina Ramirez (@TinaRamirezVA) November 19, 2021
Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty by the Kenosha, Wisconsin, jury on all five accusations about his deadly shooting of two White men and injuring one other White man on 25th August 2020, during the second night of civil unrest in Kenosha.
Rittenhouse’s lawyers claimed that the then-17-year-old’s actions came in self-defense following he got swamped from behind when he shot Gaige Grosskreutz as well as Joseph Rosenbaum, and Anthony Huber in the insurrection. Rosenbaum and Huber died but Grosskreutz survived though he was critically injured.
The prosecution argued Rittenhouse prompted the attacks.
In the insurrection, a police officer, Jacob Blake, was also shot earlier in the week in Kenosha. Though managed to survive the shooting but unfortunately paralyzed partially.
‘Student Takeovers’
A JMU spokeswoman addressed the Nichols video, but not the chemistry department posts, spokeswoman Mary-Hope Vass said “James Madison University offers ‘student takeovers’ on social media platforms as an opportunity for our audiences to learn about student activities and research,” Adding “One of yesterday’s takeovers went into the personal opinion and viewpoints of a student, which are not necessarily reflective of the university.
The video expressing this opinion was removed from the university’s social media account.”
Ramirez Spoke About JMU Responses
Ramirez spoke regarding the JMU responses towards the Rittenhouse discharge.
Ramirez said “Presuming the guilt of a young man found innocent by a jury of his peers is the antithesis of standing for a fair criminal justice system,” adding “That JMU allowed this to take place on their official social media accounts, to say nothing of the blatant misinformation, is egregious.”
Kyle Rittenhouse to Appear on ‘tucker Carlson Tonight’ for Exclusive Interview
Further, she added “To see that the school’s Chemistry Department would then double down with more politicized rhetoric is beyond the pale, in their posts they say ‘it’s hard to focus on Chemistry,’ but that is their job and what parents are paying thousands of dollars in tuition fees expect them to do.
This is why I’ve been so adamant that we need to make school about education again. We should be teaching students how to think critically, not what to think politically.”
Republican Glenn Youngkin won the race for Virginia governor partially by campaigning on education, pressing back against what parents see as the left-wing politicization of the education system, and stating that parents should have the authority for deciding what their children are being taught at schools.
