14 year old boy arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school

[Cory]

He was a bright middle school kid who brought a homemade clock to school to impreess a teacher. Yes, undoubtedy occasionally absurd zero tolerance school policies had a role to play, but anyone who believes for a second he would've been arrested if he was a white Methodist boy is deluding themselves.

Whathe was arrested for was bringing a (fantastically imagined) suspicion of bringing a bomb to blow up his school. "bomb + Muslim = terrorist" as many Americans will tell you, including repeatedly mayor of that city.

this was an attack of blatant Islamophobia, but it hit a telegenic middle class kid and proved an embarrassment

Point of Order: He didn't "make" anything. He just stripped the plastic outside of an alarm clock and put the innards in a suitcase.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Yeah, the narrative that this kid was some sort of genius inventor fell apart pretty quick. This is yet another example of America's stupefying partisan politics and the desire for scoring cheap points making it difficult to rationally comment on a controversy.

[Mr. Smith]

Yeah, the narrative that this kid was some sort of genius inventor fell apart pretty quick. This is yet another example of America's stupefying partisan politics and the desire for scoring cheap points making it difficult to rationally comment on a controversy.

This only makes this whole event and the reaction from the right even more ridiculous.

[Sbane]

Were you arrested and publically labelled a terrorist essentially for your ethnicity?

By the time the public found out about the story, he was obviously not a terrorist.  Hell, did anybody ever think he was a terrorist other than math (or whatever) teacher who went nuts when a bomb looking device hiding in a backpack started beeping?  No he shouldn't have been arrested, but I still maintain any kid that brings a bomb looking device to school is going to get in trouble, no matter their skin color or what stupid book they pray too.  Perhaps not arrested, maybe his skin color and stupid god played a part in that, but without those things he doesn't get to see the President, go on a world tour of rich fans of his "tragedy" and certainly wouldn't be suing the local school district for millions of dollars.

And its wrong that he would get treated differently due to his skin color and religion. Duh!

[windjammer]

Chairmansanchez,
If you were bullied when you were in high school/middle school, I'm sorry for hearing that. People who bullied you should have paid for that.
But that you were a victim who unfortunately wasn"t "avenged", that doesn't mean that every other victim shouldn't try to seek retribution.

[Bull Moose Base]

A liberal Bernie Sanders supporter lays out a very strong case that the only bigotry going on was against Texans and Ahmed and family suck.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/84832599/#.Vlh5it6lirU.twitter

[Türkisblau]

Ahmed and his family should be wiped out with Qatar, the hellhole that they emigrated to, going along with them.

[Cory]

It's funny how the people who sided with him just can't admit they were played.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

This story has never been more than background noise for me, but can anyone explain how the, uh, twist ending doesn't throw a pall over the entire matter? Is this just a case of someone's 15 minutes having gone terribly awry?

For the same reason people still cite Joseph Stack as "right-wing terror" despite his suicide note quoting the Communist creed adoringly.

Narratives and all that.

[Badger]

It's funny how the people who sided with him just can't admit they were played.

"played"

Why? because his family sued (justifiably IMHO)? because his family decided to emigrate afterwords?

Weak....

[7,052,770]

It's funny how the people who sided with him just can't admit they were played.

He wasn't wrongly arrested?

[bedstuy]

It's funny how the people who sided with him just can't admit they were played.

He wasn't wrongly arrested?

The school handled the situation improperly.  But, why is that a national news story and why is this kid some type of genius/martyr? 

I knew someone who was suspended from school for having a photo of a musket in their revolutionary war presentation.  We have zero tolerance for weapons in school.  Schools take bomb threats very seriously.  There seems to have been a breakdown in communication here though.  But, if the police legitimately thought, this kid brought a hoax bomb to school, they should have arrested and questioned him.

Now, the question of whether the kid put the clock in the box to provoke a response which he could play as Islamophobia?  I don't know.  But, people are very frustrated that the left tried to spin this story and got the facts wrong.  They wanted a story like this so they fashioned it to fit their narrative.  His parents are certainly guilty for participating in that deceitful process.

[SteveRogers]

It's funny how the people who sided with him just can't admit they were played.

He wasn't wrongly arrested?

The school handled the situation improperly.  But, why is that a national news story and why is this kid some type of genius/martyr? 

I knew someone who was suspended from school for having a photo of a musket in their revolutionary war presentation.  We have zero tolerance for weapons in school.  Schools take bomb threats very seriously.  There seems to have been a breakdown in communication here though.  But, if the police legitimately thought, this kid brought a hoax bomb to school, they should have arrested and questioned him.

Now, the question of whether the kid put the clock in the box to provoke a response which he could play as Islamophobia?  I don't know.  But, people are very frustrated that the left tried to spin this story and got the facts wrong.  They wanted a story like this so they fashioned it to fit their narrative.  His parents are certainly guilty for participating in that deceitful process.

What facts did "the left" actually get wrong though? Just that the clock wasn't particularly clever or neat? So what?

[bedstuy]

The media called it a "homemade clock" and portrayed it as a science project.  As if, a muslim kid made a legitimate science project and was punished for it.  That was the narrative they wanted to push, and it wasn't based on facts. 

[Bigby]

The media called it a "homemade clock" and portrayed it as a science project.  As if, a muslim kid made a legitimate science project and was punished for it.  That was the narrative they wanted to push, and it wasn't based on facts. 

Never pass up the opportunity to make Southerners look like hayseeds. That was the intention from the start, not representing the truth.

[7,052,770]

The media called it a "homemade clock" and portrayed it as a science project.  As if, a muslim kid made a legitimate science project and was punished for it.  That was the narrative they wanted to push, and it wasn't based on facts. 

Again, what are you talking about? The kid made a project at home and brought it to show to his teacher. Only a complete clueless dumbass would have thought it looked like a bomb. The police clearly wouldn't have arrested a white student who did the same thing.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Seriously? "Only a complete dumbass" would think it could look like a bomb? Give me a f**king break.



If you showed an average person something like that, totally removed from context, they would not know what it was, and it would be a totally reasonable assumption that it could be some sort of improvised explosive device. Teachers and other school staff are taught to be super vigilant about this stuff for good reason.

Obviously the kid deserved an apology, shouldn't have been arrested, and racism was most likely a factor, but if I was in charge of protecting a bunch of kids at school something that looked like that would've raised red flags.

[7,052,770]

Seriously? "Only a complete dumbass" would think it could look like a bomb? Give me a f**king break.

Yes? That's obviously not big or complex enough to be a bomb.

Combine that with a teacher who could corroborate the student's story if the administration wanted to ask.

[Marokai Backbeat]

First of all, you're just dead wrong. Even a quick google search will tell you that you can make a homemade explosive device pretty small. It doesn't take a genius to throw them together, either.

But more importantly, why would public school teachers ever have the expertise to know that? From all the details I'm aware of, Ahmed brought that device to school totally unprompted and didn't notify anyone he was doing it. The kid also had a larger than average disciplinary record, too. Schools definitely go over board in their vigilance, but it makes perfect sense why a teacher would see this and immediately be concerned.

Even from Ahmed's own version of this story that's basically what happened. He showed it to his engineering teacher, who complimented him but advised him to keep it in his backpack for the rest of the day. Instead, he sets it up in English class for no good reason and attention gets drawn to it.

Again: This device, removed from context, looks suspicious and most people would not be able to tell you what it was, regardless of whether or not you agree, you're just wrong. Further, he was not immediately just thrown to the principal's office, he was just told to keep it to himself for the day, and he did the opposite. Arresting him was totally over the line, but the narrative the Left wants to play about this story is just disingenuous bulls**t.

[bedstuy]

Seriously? "Only a complete dumbass" would think it could look like a bomb? Give me a f**king break.

Yes? That's obviously not big or complex enough to be a bomb.

Combine that with a teacher who could corroborate the student's story if the administration wanted to ask.

Not big enough to be a bomb?  What does that mean?  As far as complex, I just have to disagree.  Circuit  board, wires, timer, those are bomb components.  What is missing?  And, what level of bomb-identification expertise are school teachers supposed to have?

What in that picture would make a layman know it wasn't a bomb?

And, that's the issue.  They could at least wonder whether it was a hoax bomb because a good portion of the public actually agrees it looks like a bomb.

[Famous Mortimer]

Arresting him was only wrong in that it was obviously what he wanted. He was trying to provoke a response. Although trying to provoke a response is literally what the charge of having a hoax bomb is for. 

[Green Line]

He knew exactly what he was doing when he brought that "clock" into school.  There was no reason to bring it in other than to provoke a response.  It looked like a hoax bomb and he deserved to be arrested.  Its only too bad the police caved due to the pc outrage to him being Muslim.  He should have been charged for bringing a hoax bomb to school

[courts]

A liberal Bernie Sanders supporter lays out a very strong case that the only bigotry going on was against Texans and Ahmed and family suck.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/84832599/#.Vlh5it6lirU.twitter

literally agreed with everything in the vid

[7,052,770]

Arresting him was only wrong in that it was obviously what he wanted. He was trying to provoke a response. Although trying to provoke a response is literally what the charge of having a hoax bomb is for.

He knew exactly what he was doing when he brought that "clock" into school.  There was no reason to bring it in other than to provoke a response.  It looked like a hoax bomb and he deserved to be arrested.  Its only too bad the police caved due to the pc outrage to him being Muslim.  He should have been charged for bringing a hoax bomb to school

Sorry, I don't believe this silly conspiracy theory that he intentionally brought the clock to school to get arrested and start a big craze. It would have been so much more likely that he just get arrested and never get any redress for it -- he's a f***ing genius if this was his plan all along and it worked this beautifully. Any that doesn't jive with the idea that his "clock" is pathetic/not impressive.

First of all, you're just dead wrong. Even a quick google search will tell you that you can make a homemade explosive device pretty small. It doesn't take a genius to throw them together, either.

But more importantly, why would public school teachers ever have the expertise to know that? From all the details I'm aware of, Ahmed brought that device to school totally unprompted and didn't notify anyone he was doing it. The kid also had a larger than average disciplinary record, too. Schools definitely go over board in their vigilance, but it makes perfect sense why a teacher would see this and immediately be concerned.

Even from Ahmed's own version of this story that's basically what happened. He showed it to his engineering teacher, who complimented him but advised him to keep it in his backpack for the rest of the day. Instead, he sets it up in English class for no good reason and attention gets drawn to it.

Again: This device, removed from context, looks suspicious and most people would not be able to tell you what it was, regardless of whether or not you agree, you're just wrong. Further, he was not immediately just thrown to the principal's office, he was just told to keep it to himself for the day, and he did the opposite. Arresting him was totally over the line, but the narrative the Left wants to play about this story is just disingenuous bulls**t.

I don't know, I just wouldn't think something that small (looks like the size of a wallet in that picture) with so few wires and material is seriously mistakable for a bomb, especially after he demonstrates how it's a clock. I can see why a teacher may be suspicious, if this kid really was a discipline problem (although this is the first I've heard of that, and it's that's true, why didn't the school and police say it right away?), but the police should have known better. And let's not forget he had an alibi that would have cleared him if they police bothered to get to the bottom of things.

Is there a source that he intentionally set it off in English class? Everything I'd heard said that it went off accidentally. If he did it on purpose (trying to show of off his mad skillz or whatever), then that's kinda lame, but it still doesn't justify the extreme overreaction from the police.

[Cory]

I don't know,

No, you obviously don't.