Texas sxhooloboy arrested for making a clock

[LONDONER]

Apparently this has earned him a trip to the White House to meet the President.

http://boingboing.net/2015/09/16/making-...-scho.html

[Steve]

.

[LONDONER]

A related post:

http://boingboing.net/2015/09/16/arab-lo...n-des.html

[LONDONER]

And yet more on the same story:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34284250

[East]

Hmmmmmm....Texas you say?....hmmmmmmm.......

Ever since Texas decided to replace our Governor using Enron and deception to hold us all hostage....I have nothing but contempt for the State of Texas....

Weren't they worried that Obama was going to invade them recently?

Oh yeah...poor kid. I hope the support he gets partly makes up for what the asshats did to him.

[Emiliano]

I worry about the message this sends to young Muslim boys and girls. I'm glad the kid was given a lot of high profile support, and hopefully he's strong enough to not allow this to shape his future interest in his hobby.

[NativeSon]

Well, it's kinda difficult to sort through the facts of these sensationalistic type stories and therefore I don't have them, but, and it's a big but, the whole thing seems a bit strange. After getting a look at this kid's invention, even more so.

I suppose all's well that ends well?

[LJay]

Emiliano, was he arrested because he was a Muslim or because the clock looked suspicious? Were he a Presbyterian would similar concerns arise?

I wonder what the next tempest in a teapot will be.

By the way, The Muslim world has produced some very great intellects. Ask anyone who has tried to pass algebra.

[Emiliano]

Emiliano, was he arrested because he was a Muslim or because the clock looked suspicious? Were he a Presbyterian would similar concerns arise?

I wonder what the next tempest in a teapot will be.

By the way, The Muslim world has produced some very great intellects. Ask anyone who has tried to pass algebra.

I don't know and I can't say how much his religion played into his arrest. Maybe that he was Muslim had nothing to do with his arrest, maybe it did. Regardless, the way most of us have been informed about this story by the media is framed as his religion playing a big part in this.

So for people hearing about this story through the filter of our media, the stereotypes are being reinforced. When representation of Muslim men is already so limited in our media - whether it's being shown that Muslims are terrorists or just being told that Muslims are so quickly suspected of being terrorists - it sends a negative message to Muslims.

I just worry that young people may internalize that message, or seek to separate themselves from being included in the stereotype by avoiding ideas and interests that could draw that suspicion to them. That's what I meant by expressing my concern.

I would hope that a Presbyterian kid or Jewish kid or Buddhist kid or Atheist kid would also be strong enough to overcome the embarrassment / humiliation / frustration of being falsely accused of bringing a bomb, or intending to make people think they brought a bomb, to school. I'm an educator, a student of child development, and work closely with children of all backgrounds. And it pains me to think that someone else's mistake, a misunderstanding, and a sensationalized news story would pull a kid away from their passions and interests.

But I'm not sure a Presbyterian kid in this situation would have drawn the attention of the media in the same way. There's no stereotype threat to high light with Christian kids. Christians, especially white ones, are shown much broader representation in the media. They are more readily treated as individuals rather than as part of a group. So I'd be less concerned about the message such an incident would send to other young Christians. They aren't exposed to the same relentless stereotype about themselves. You know what I mean about that difference?

I know about the contributions to humanity by Muslims, and I count a few Muslims as close friends. I just don't think in a post 9/11 world we are shown positive and diverse representations of Muslims enough. So even if this story ends with the kid getting a pat on the back from President Obama - who himself has been called a Muslim as if that is automatically something that would make him dangerous and unfit to lead this country (if not straight up anti American and part of a plot to destroy it all together) - it still is yet another contribution to the narrative that society views and will treat young Muslim men as a threat.

[LJay]

Perzackly!

I read a lot of news and am glad we have relatively open media, but it is easy to sell papers with catch phrases and assumptions.