by Jack
It’s time to let our guard down and if you see something suspicious don’t say anything, this is the message President Obama sent yesterday. IRVING, Texas (AP) — Ahmed, a Muslim student in high school built a digital clock and took it to school to show his teacher. At least three teachers thought the homemade clock resembled a bomb and reported it to the principal, who also thought it resembled a bomb.
The police were called and the officer thought it was suspicious looking too, so the student was briefly detained by police for an interview and then released, no charges were ever filed.
(The bomb, er, clock is shown on right.) Hmmmm…geez, that looks more like a bomb than a clock to me, and I’ve had bomb training and I repair clocks, but you be the judge. To a high school teacher with no bomb/clock building experience, I can see how this “clock” might look a little intimidating. How many clocks have you seen in a silver metal briefcase?
Ahmed’s parents are from the Sudan, a hot bed of terrorism, and they are Muslim activists…this could be very rewarding for them before it all blows over, no pun intended. Linda Moreno, an attorney representing Ahmed, said the family is considering taking legal action against police. They have an attorney already, that didn’t take long. Wonder if the parents retained her just before they sent Ahmed to class?
President Obama and a number of civil rights groups have immediately rallied to Ahmed’s side. No surprise there. Bet if Obama had a son Ahmed would look just like him.
In a tweet, Obama called Ahmed’s clock “cool” and said more kids should be inspired like him to enjoy science, because “it’s what makes America great.” He has invited Ahmed to visit the White House. The American Civil Liberties Union (of course) condemned the school’s action. Hillary Clinton also chimed in to support 
Ahmed. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said, Ahmed’s teachers had “failed him.”
In a matter of hours, the clock made Ahmed a star on social media, with the hashtag #IStandWithAhmed tweeted more than 1 million times by Wednesday evening.
“Instead of encouraging his curiosity, intellect and ability, the Irving (school district) saw fit to throw handcuffs on a frightened 14-year-old Muslim boy wearing a NASA T-shirt and then remove him from school,” Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU in Texas, said in a statement.
“I built the clock to impress my teacher, but when I showed it to her, she thought it was a threat to her. So it was really sad she took the wrong impression of it,” Ahmed said at a news conference in front of his family’s home.
“Ahmed’s arrest is a logical conclusion to Islamophobia in Irving and it’s deplorable,” the chairwoman of the Dallas County Democratic Party, Carol Donovan, said in a statement.
Irving Police Chief Larry Boyd said the clock looked “suspicious in nature,” but there was no evidence the boy meant to cause alarm at school. Boyd considers the case closed. But, Ahmed doesn’t and neither do his parents. He wants a transfer to another school and his parents want a little more…wonder what that could be? (Does it go cha-ching?)
The lesson here is unless you want to be called a bigot or Islamophobic on the 5 o’clock news, DO NOT CALL POLICE IF YOU SEE SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS, BETTER TO JUST IGNORE IT. This story also serves to underscore the commonly held belief that all cops are racist idiots. Thank you President Obama…you’ve done a wonderful job of fundamentally transforming America.
Long before 911, the left pushed a “zero tolerance” policy for schools:
The US government encourages people in their workplace to report suspicious packages to the police!:
So the school officials did exactly what they have been instructed to do and now this school district may be sued for it?
If this “clock” had been brought to school by a white kid…well you know the PC drill!
Tina, the school said there’s another side to this story, but because of student confidentiality rules they can’t defend themselves in public.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all. So many things are done in secret these days, and not necessarily for security reasons.
I’d want to move my kid. What a bunch of ignoramuses.
And I’d date the source of this debacle way back … to when all you Reaganomic types decided there was no point in paying teachers decent wages. You pay moronic wages, you get morons. It’s damnably sad.
Libby, I figured out what’s sad a long time ago and this ain’t it.
You might take a moment to check your facts. Seems in Texas, teacher salaries begin at a minimum of $27,320 for a teacher with no experience. A minimum of $31,560 for a teacher with five years of experience, a minimum of $37,040 for a teacher with 10 years of experience, and a minimum of $44,270 for teachers with 20+ years of experience. These are minimums and the wages go up to $100K.. how does that compare to your wages? I rest my case.
PS Plus they get 3 mos vacation, all holidays, retirement, health insurance and two weeks off at Easter, er, spring break.
Wait a minute Libby,
Here in CA we have some of the same ridiculous “no tolerance” policies that get kids sent home for making finger guns or drawing a picture of a bomb, and CA has some of the highest paid teachers in the nation. So what gives?
Are you trying to say that our no tolerance zones would have allowed this kid to bring a mock bomb to school and did nothing?
And where do you get off calling teachers morons just because they don’t make a lot of money? Some people teach because it’s a calling, not for the paycheck.
Steve the slight was really meant for Ronald Reagan and Reagonomics.
Libby was certain that the progressive policies of the current administration would outshine Reaganomics in big ways…instead we have a stagnant economy, more poverty, much higher numbers of unemployed, big corporations leaving faster than ever to avoid regulations and high taxes, and a dying main street. (Also a disastrous outcome in the ME, big bucks spent with only a big mess to show for it)
I think she’s just stubbornly clinging to her progressive beliefs and displaying the expected attendant attitude. It’s hard to let go when you’ve invested so much in an ideology that fails every time it’s tried.
Except it WASN’T a mock bomb.
Libby I think you’re talking through your hat.
Teachers used to realize going in that they didn’t have the opportunity to make a big fat salary but thought the trade off was worth it: 1. They could do something they loved, 2. They got summers off, 3. They had job security.
Compensation today involves more than a salary but it’s also true that teacher salaries are comparable to the national average wage AND the pension benefits are generally more generous. See here and here. Teachers can retire and receive their pension (46K per year on average) at aged 55, giving them the opportunity to double dip in California if they choose. They also receive Social Security benefits and healthcare benefits.
According to nces.ed.gov (National Center for Education Statistics) the student population decreased but the number of teachers increased in the eighties. The teacher student ratio went from 22.3 in 1970 to 17.2 in 1989…that made the job easier. Fast forward to the Obummer years and the growing immigration population has caused a rise in classroom size (As well as a language problem):
(We can thank the open borders politicians for a lot of that increase).
So you see teacher compensation has kept pace with the rest of the public’s salaries…and they still get their summers off and countless “teachers days” and holidays.
The cost to taxpayers for those generous benefits is breaking the bank in most states.
Teachers don’t get Social Security in California. We have or own separate system.
And what “growing immigration problem?” Net immigration has decreased over the past few years.
The collapse of the economy sent many illegals home in 2008-09. Things haven’t improved much. But that hasn’t stopped the administration from encouraging the influx of illegals. Last summer we saw the surge of children coming across the border and apparently that continues, though at a lesser pace. But what difference does that now make? This year there will be more refugees to add to the ix and with the numbers flowing into Europe the US will be pressured to take even more.
National Conference of State Legislatures:
The National Center for Public Policy:
Am not now, nor do I ever plan to join the ridiculous “politically correct” bunch. And I won’t lose any sleep over it, either.
Would rather see something and say something than what the alternative is.
And remember that whenever a proven serial Liar-in-Chief starts criticizing something you’ve said or done, you MUST be doing something right!
Nothing makes much sense here.
If they thought it was a bomb, why didn’t they evacuate the school?
The Irving police chief has said the police knew ‘pretty quickly’ homemade clock wasn’t a bomb. So then why did they handcuff the kid?
“the school said there’s another side to this story, but because of student confidentiality rules they can’t defend themselves in public.”
This kid is probably ADD and Asperger. He probably has behavior problems, geniuses often do. None the less, once they knew it wasn’t a bomb why did they still give him a 3 day suspension?
Ok, so suspend him for what he actually did, not for something he didn’t do. When the officials act unfairly, it breeds lack of respect for authority.
Good point Jim…why didn’t they evacuate?
My first thought was that the rules are confusing due to the PC stain…I mean come on, a little five year old boy playing with a finger gun? Phhhht!
Teachers and administrators are not allowed to use common sense anymore.
You might be right, some ridiculous ‘zero tolerance’ policy carried to extremes.
Remember that kid in Willows, suspended for leaving a rifle in his truck?
Jim I would not defend or condemn the actions of the school in either case until I knew all the facts. However, what is important at this juncture is that we allow for mistakes to be made because of the security we need.
That means, we should not be so quick to condemn school teachers until we know the full story and we ought to give well meaning people a wide latitude. In the latter case of the clock, we simply do not know the full story.
As the former President of President of the Hell’s Angels in Los Angeles once said, “It’s a might slim slice of ham that does not have two sides.” Did the Texas high school deserve to be dragged through the headlines and have all sorts of bad things said about them? If you know the full story, then you tell me…I don’t know.
I’ll admit this is an interesting take, but a lot still doesn’t seem to add up for me. If multiple school officials thought this was a bomb, why wasn’t a bomb squad called? Why weren’t the students evacuated?
Why was the student arrested? The police chief admitted they knew it wasn’t a bomb but arrested the kid for bringing a “hoax bomb.” But the student never said it was a bomb! Nor did he attempt to pass it off as a bomb. So this seems like gross incompetence from both the school and the police.
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/irving-police-chief-admits-cops-knew-ahmed-mohamed-didnt-have-a-bomb-when-they-arrested-him/
Conservatives have complained (rightly) about kids suspended for making paper guns at school. Just recently a school forced a girl to stop bringing a Wonder Woman lunchbox to school because of their ban on “violent characters,” a positon so ignorant I don’t even know where to begin (Wonder Woman is literally the least violent superhero out there, and is usually written as trying diplomacy first; she’s often portrayed as a UN ambassador in the comics and cartoons for God’s sake), so I’d expect conservatives and liberals to come together on this issue.
In related news, Donald Trump failed the McCain test today:
Questioner (in Trump T-shirt): We have a problem in this country. It’s called Muslims. You know our current president is one. You know he’s not even an American.
Trump (chuckling): We need this question. This is the first question.
Questioner (Who appears to be the human incarnation of “The Family Guy”): Anyway, we have training camps growing where they want to kill us. That’s my question: When can we get rid of them?”
Trump: We’re going to be looking at a lot of different things. You know, a lot of people are saying that and a lot of people are saying that bad things are happening. We’re going to be looking at that and many other things.
http://ethicsalarms.com/2015/09/18/another-day-another-demonstartion-that-donald-trump-lacks-the-character-to-be-a-crossing-guard-much-less-a-world-leader-when-do-his-supporters-become-sufficiently-embarrassed/
Note that when McCain was asked the same question in ’08, he stood up for the truth, pointing out that Obama was a Christian and a “decent man.” (He could have done better and pointed out that Muslims could be decent men too, but the point is he tried.) Once again Trump proved that he is pretty much invested in getting the stupid bigot vote, and won’t ever do anything to stand up for ethics or honesty.
Megyn Kelly’s reaction to Trump’s handling of the question was awesome.
Short summary:
Panel members: Trump’s racist fearmongering was totally acceptable!
Kelly: No it was terrible you people are terrible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYhDuoba0lI
When I look at the “clock” I see a potential bomb. One would have to have some expertise to determine that it’s not one. Whether or not the kid tried to pass it off as a bomb it still looks like one and that is what caused the uproar.
Had this been a white kid with an object made to look like a gun the same thing would have happened, with the exception that he wouldn’t be invited to the White House later.
Those willing to look at this without thinking bigotry might remember this kid in Oregon.
Teachers have a lot of reasons to be wary (and weary) in today’s world.
We have some readers that state they are teachers, how would they have handled this issue?
It looks nothing like a bomb to my (admittedly untrained) eyes, so I probably would have told the kid it was a cool clock and moved on with my lesson.
Chris, then you would have averted a national media scandal.
The school has implied there is more to this story that prompted their action, but they are not at liberty to discuss it due to student confidentiality rules.
Honest answer from Chris, I sort of imagined that.
However to me this was sort of akin to selling a one way ticket on a airplane on a lightly traveled flight, and observing the passenger was carrying a obscure box cutter at the same time.
We can’t rely on anyone without the instincts or proper training that permits them to make decisions based what they consider innocent in appearance, there were other children in that school along with adults that deserve a chance of survival.
My first though was along the lines of the follow up article by Jack above, what is being set up here?, why build something that represented a IED?.
However I do take exception with Jacks comment of,
‘then you would have averted a national media scandal’, but I do agree with” IF you see something, REPORT IT” , let the experts decide.
What if it had exploded instead of just going off as a alarm clock? what media attention would we be dealing with then?
And now I imagine someone is already thinking how lax we are becoming and working on the real thing, not just a proto type cool toy.
It’s a clock, It’s Texas. A clock and a Muslim…….. in Texas Hum……… What if t was a clock and a Christian would there have been a difference in results?
We have bigger problems than this.
Yeah Dewey, it’s not like the Dallas area has ever recently been threatened by terrorists bent on killing as many of their citizens as possible…. better to ass-u-me nobody has any hidden agendas and just spread the love. And why would anyone think a MUSLIM would be a terrorist? How crazy is that? Muslims would never attack America would they….oh, those Texans…they sure are silly, huh?
You’re right Dewser, keep thinking good thoughts, nothing to see here.