Texas sxhooloboy arrested for making a clock

[NativeSon]

It's true, the media as a whole does not grant Muslims many favors. Yet I would think the tremendous outpouring of support Ahmed Mohamed has received would provide at least some assurance of society's continued acceptance of Muslims and of the Muslim community at large.

But the fact remains that grade school children from all walks of life do land in hot water over lesser and greater infractions on a regular basis. A quick Google search will confirm.

This kid, who happened to be Muslim, did bring to school a questionable looking device that just happened to resemble the typical Hollywood detonation device--in a mini, metal attaché case, no less. This device, as it turns out, is nothing more than a consumer electronics alarm clock that has been removed from its original casing. Hardly an invention. Granted, I still don't have all the facts, but according to most accounts the situation escalated when the student failed to provide a reasonable explanation for its intended purpose. And honestly, what was the purpose? I think by now we are all perfectly aware that in the US, authority figures, and educators especially, are expected to err on the side of caution when dealing with minors in school settings. These are just the times we live in.

[East]

It's true, the media as a whole does not grant Muslims many favors. Yet I would think the tremendous outpouring of support Ahmed Mohamed has received would provide at least some assurance of society's continued acceptance of Muslims and of the Muslim community at large.

But the fact remains that grade school children from all walks of life do land in hot water over lesser and greater infractions on a regular basis. A quick Google search will confirm.

This kid, who happened to be Muslim, did bring to school a questionable looking device that just happened to resemble the typical Hollywood detonation device--in a mini, metal attaché case, no less. This device, as it turns out, is nothing more than a consumer electronics alarm clock that has been removed from its original casing. Hardly an invention. Granted, I still don't have all the facts, but according to most accounts the situation escalated when the student failed to provide a reasonable explanation for its intended purpose. And honestly, what was the purpose? I think by now we are all perfectly aware that in the US, authority figures, and educators especially, are expected to err on the side of caution when dealing with minors in school settings. These are just the times we live in.

You make some great points. After all of the school shootings...as an ediucator...it might be remiss to ignore it.

Of course....very few people really talk openly and honestly about racism so it is hard to ascertain if racism or Islamophobia was the culprit.

[Pix]

I expect that his being dusky and a Muslim was at least a contributing factor given the area. In any case, this is another reason (interrogating minors without parents present or even informed, arrested for the flimsiest reasons) for me not to like the Patriot Act. Maybe that boy should bring that up with him when he meets the POTUS.


That said (intending the following to be an amusing story someone shared with me of his childhood) a guy who didn't live that far from Irving when (well before 9/11) he, at age 14, decided to strike back at his guardians always searching through his stuff while he was at school (looking for "the wrong books" and trivial things like that) by using his home electronics kit (for kids) to make an alarm. I forget the details, but the end result was he'd wired a loud alarm to something that turned light into energy which thus energized the alarm...and then stuck it in his underwear drawer.

That same day after getting back from school he was instantly whipped by one of his guardians because she'd opened his underwear drawer (to search it) and as his alarm he rigged started shrieking at her she was startled with her eyes seeing a bunch of wires and circuits and thought, "BOMB!" And it left enough of an impression on her that she was angry about it hours later to take a belt to him the moment he walked in.

He said he got many whippings from her...but that one was worth it.

[NativeSon]

It appears that between being severely traumatized; having trouble sleeping; retaining legal counsel; consultation with CAIR; withdrawing from school; declarations of religious persecution; holding public prayer rallies; press conferences; updating twitter; accepting internships; accepting scholarships; managing a GoFundMe campaign; sorting gifts; media interviews; television appearances, celebrity photo opportunities; visiting science fairs; trips around the country; planned trips to Mecca, and eventually the White House to meet the President-- all while being the new face of Islamophobia--there has been no time for Ahmed, nor his family, nor his CAIR reps, and lawyers to retrieve the now infamous clock which has been patiently waiting for collection at Irving police headquarters for over a week now.

http://northdallasgazette.com/2015/09/23...k-anytime/