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if anyone – the school or the police – had actually believed for one millisecond that the so-called “suspicious” device might have been a bomb, the school would immediately have been evacuated? L
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That is a good point, and the school/police need to be asked why that didn’t happen.
I don’t think it’s fair to think that all these adults “knew” it was nothing but just saw this as an opportunity to be ridiculous with a Muslim child.
What bothers me about the people defending the school, other than the points some people have made (like for example, if they were worried it was a bomb, why wasn’t the bomb squad called in right away?). I realize that Texas these days has laws against critical thinking in the schools, but this one fails even basic thinking, if looked at logically.
1)If it really were a bomb the kid was bringing in, why would he show it? If the kid was some sort of fanatic, he would bring the bomb in and hide it someplace, then get the heck out. He wouldn’t show it to a teacher like that, it makes no sense. More importantly, if he was some sort of suicide bomber type, he likely would say it was a bomb, but all he said all along was it was a clock.
2)If as the school claimed, he was trying to perpetuate a hoax, again it makes no sense. If he really wanted to perpetuate a hoax, he would have left the device someplace and then waited for the ‘fun’ when someone discovered it, he wouldn’t show it to a teacher and say it was a clock. I don’t know why the kid had it plugged in in English class which allowed it to beep, but the kids actions and his statements don’t support the idea he intended to do a hoax either. At the very least, if he wanted to pull what he saw as a prank on the teacher, he would have taken it out and said it was a bomb, but he didn’t.
3)The other problem was the thing apparently was a plug in clock, no one would ever build a bomb that needed to be plugged in, even to charge it, they would use batteries, and given that I assume that the people working in the school actually went to college, which means they would have seen enough tv and news accounts to realize how bombs are generally designed.
I heard one idiot ranter on radio this morning (I had on talk radio by accident, last night was listening to the Mets on the same channel) saying the kid disrupted the school and the english class, so deserved to be suspended for 3 days, yada yada. Really? If the worse crime the kid did was disrupt an english class, like if a kid had a cell phone that beeped or something, then give him detention, but this? Give me a break, put it this way, in any court outside the hysteria belt heard this, the reasonable man position would be to conclude that the school panicked because the kid was non white and muslim, the two arguments about otherwise would preclude this being anything other than it was, the kid wanting to show off something he made.
As far as the poster who ranted how this kid was invited to the white house but the heroes from France were not, the kid was invited to a science event held at the white house, which brings together scientists and kids and such, which was issued because the kid had shown the curiousity to build a clock. The three guys in France were heroes, but it had nothing to do with science, which this did.
When I hear school authorities say things like “well, you don’t know the whole story, there are things we can’t say because of student confidentiality, if the parents agree we’ll release further information”, my BS detector goes off, that is the classic defense, saying there is ‘hidden’ information (like Bratten saying that with the cop that took down James Blake, that there were ‘two side to every story’), much like Tail Gunner Joe and his infamous briefcase containing the names of suspected communists (which more likely contained several bottles of scotch). They panicked because the kid was non white and muslim, and even after figuring out it wasn’t a bomb quickly, took the kid away in handcuffs cause the good ole boys were pissed off. As someone else pointed out, if they really thought it was a bomb, they would have evacuated the school, but they didn’t, they basically got mad that the boy had the gall to be non white, muslim and scare them because they are that stupid, so decided to get retribution on him.
And if the school tries to claim that the boy violated school policy, they darn well better have rules that specifically say that having something that could be considered a bomb or a weapon are prohibited, and can show that when other kids were caught violating it they were treated the same way (which I doubt on both counts), they are going to face a pretty big lawsuit, plus possibly federal civil rights charges.
I tell you, it’s hard being the person who always wants to know a few more facts before jumping on the bandwagon.
Musicprnt, my kids’ (plural) schools have rules against plugging in any electronic devices in a classroom. Some schools also have rules against bringing any electronic devices into a classroom. Both are suspendable actions. Not arrestable. Not handcuffable, but unquestionably suspendable. The boy would have been suspended in all of my kids’ schools.
@Hunt, I am an advocate of knowing more facts before jumping on the bandwagon. With that, sometimes there just aren’t a lot of facts to tell the story - because it might truly be an innocent, somewhat uneventful situation of facts. Plain and simple.
And, there is one thing to not jump on the bandwagon - but then perhaps “we” could be more neutral in our opinions of the event.
According to the WP article, the device included A POWER SOURCE. Where did this “he plugged it in in English class” thing come from?
Think about it: if he had indeed plugged it in to an outlet it would have been fully visible to everyone in the room from the get go.
Oh, and somewhere a saw a photo of his device next to a photo of a suitcase bomb. Conveniently, the THUMB in the picture of his clock was edited out, which eliminated the immediate difference in scale. His clock was in a pencil case-sized container.
Well, in the picture I linked above, the case isn’t a little plastic pencil case like many of us are probably picturing. It’s bigger, shaped like a briefcase with a handle. The picture also shows an electrical plug (which gives you sense of size), but I can’t say now whether that plug is part of the thing, or if it belongs to something else in the picture.
Here’s my take on this, based on the facts we have:
So, I feel sorry for the kid. But I wonder if he’ll absorb the lesson that you should listen to good advice.
As opposed to the “that’s who I thought it was” lesson from the cop…
Yes, and conveniently for the cops the pencil case was made to look like a little suitcase. It’s still a pencil case. Look at the photo in the WP that shows the thumb.
Well, it seems to me that the message that’s being sent is that the school was totally wrong to be concerned in the slightest about a kid bringing this object to school. Of course, this is what happens when you overreact–if there was any reasonable part of your reaction, that’s swept away.
Probably, the first teacher should have taken the thing away from the kid. The whole thing could have been avoided that way.
@Hunt, wanting to know more facts is ALWAYS a good approach, and no one here should bash you for it. It’s just that the more facts you read about this case, the worse the school and cops look!
@Hunt, I agree that reserving judgement is a good idea, and I try to resist being swept into the latest outrage here, on FB, etc. I annoy friends by looking up the background of their FB memes and debunking them. 
I agree, and I believe I said earlier, that the whole mess could have been avoided if the first teacher had said, “That’s nice, let’s talk about it after school. In the meantime, leave it here with me.” I also think it is reasonable for schools to have rules about what one can bring to school.
But, as @katliamom says, the more facts emerge the worse the school and the cops look.
George Takei just posted moving open letter to Ahmed on Facebook. I’m not sure I can post it but if you look at his fb it’s the first story.
That was a wonderful letter George Takei wrote to Ahmed.
Start of letter (with link)
https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei
(Ack, figured as such. If you replace the *** with Facebook, you’ll get there.)
Chris Hayes interviews Ahmed Mohammed:
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/all-in-exclusive-with-ahmed-mohamed-526948931844
Laconic kid. Maybe a bit spectrumy. I don’t imagine the police had an easy time interrogating him. This is not a boy who is going to go off on a long explanation of the “broader reason” he built a clock and brought it to school.
OMG, I just watched the first half of that interview and I am crying! That they wouldn’t let him call his parents! (did the school officials call them?) That they interrogated him for an hour and a half! That he has been called a terrorist because of his race! And on an on!
This story has truly affected me.
Ahmed may not be chatty, but he clearly seems to remember the pertinent details and that is what he is sharing. No extras, no non-related stuff. The facts.
I am so disturbed by this!
Unintentionally exercising his right to remain silent?
Among the possibilities is that the 9v backup drained, and there was an audible reminder that the clock, which had suffered a power interrupt and was relying on a dying battery to maintain correct time, was about to chunk. That’s a reasonably well thought out design for a clock.
It isn’t only about race, although that has to be a part of it. It’s about a high school culture that does not value real STEM at anything like football levels.
We desperately need more kids like this, else future generations will be playing football in the dark.
Did anyone else see the pic of his dad bringing pizzas to the photographers camped on their lawn? Class act.
And no call to the parents until they were at the jail?! Shame.
Reading about this story brings back memories of the Central Park Jogger case. The CPJ case demonstrated how the police can manipulate kids, use scare tactics, and help develop felony cases against innocent kids who do not have parents present or legal representation. http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/05/justice/new-york-central-park-five/
Ahmed is so lucky that he eventually went home. This could have ended badly. I had to have another talk with my 8 year old and reminded her to identify herself, ask for an attorney and remain silent if the police ever questions her.