It doesn’t say any of that in the article—you are improperly claiming to know the kid’s motives.
I can only presume you have no EE experience at all. You are helping to make FR look like a hangout for xenophobic illiterates.
This case has me quite upset, because it is more of the secular humanists consolidating their power, through the false claims of racism, through Twitter practically running our country, and through Dem politicians and outfits like the NY Times making political hay of this.
I agree on this kid likely being a troublemaker, and that’s what led to all of this. Now notice, I said likely. I’m going on a lot of evidence, but I’m sure. That’s versus the other side, which as usual these days, jumps to self-righteous conclusions that this boy was an innocent victim.
What SHOULD happen is that everyone involved is looked at closely.
And maybe that’s partly already been done. Way down at the bottom of NY Times story, the school says they’d like to release more info but can’t unless the boy’s family agrees. That is likely to be behavioral/conduct information.
From what I understand, this boy just made the clock to show his teacher. It was not an assignment, so it’s not like there would be a lot of kids running around with their own science projects so teachers would feel reassured.
I also don’t believe for a single second that he didn’t know people wouldn’t look at this and think it could be a bomb. And the fact that he is maintaining otherwise as he did with his English teacher, apparently, according to him, too ignorant to realize how others might see it, says to me that he is likely very high on the manipulative/deceptive/exploitative scale. The last shot of him on the evening news was him going inside his house with a big smile, flashing the peace sign like a rock star. I think he is quite possibly one of those people who gets a rise out of doing something “extra clever” like this, where the social manipulation of getting people to defend him and getting other people with justified concerns in trouble, and the worldwide attention, is the real “science project,” the real narcissistic trip. That’s what it seems to me, but I’m willing to hold out for an investigation. He should NOT just be assumed to be innocent, given all the reasons he’s given others to doubt him.
And school staff, particularly outside of science, aren’t trained in recognizing fake versus real bombs, or real or fake guns for that matter. They are not required to be able to tell the difference, and that’s entirely reasonable to my mind.
I would also think that the English teacher when he/she was concerned that it could be a bomb, and didn’t know, HAD to contact the principal right away. That English teacher couldn’t investigate the situation. Investigating such things is for the police. Having the thought that someone might have a bomb is a mandatory reporting situation, and as quickly as possible because someone intent on setting off a bomb could possibly do so at any second.
Maybe the engineering teacher dropped the ball. It is reported he told the student not to show any other teachers. Perhaps he should have told the student to keep it with him all day, particularly if he otherwise would have to have drag it to other classes. But for all we know, perhaps he DID suggest that to this kid, but the kid wanted it discovered just to create such a situation where he could manipulate others and he was so clever to have created plausible denial and victim status ahead of time. The kid might also have assured him he wasn’t going to take this to any other classes.
I’m leaning towards that Ahmed thought this was a much more “high tech” bomb than an actual bomb, and much safer for him, and he was motivated either by anger at others (like other teens who commit Columbine-type attacks are), or he did it for Islam, or both.
I also am truly disturbed by the claim there was any “racism” over his **religion** involved. This is a SCHOOL setting, where in the past many native-born students have been charged with making bombs or bomb threats. In a SCHOOL setting, people are more likely to think “troubled teen” than Islam. And people HAVE to react to that. As the police suggested, he just WAS coy with them, like he couldn’t imagine how on earth anyone could have any suspicions or concerns. Things could possibly turn out differently, but from what I’ve learned so far, he seems disingenuous.
I also note this: The NY Times article about this is 36 paragraphs, if I counted right.
1. Innocent student just wanted to build a clock.
2. He ended up in handcuffs and juvenile detention because of it.
3. This caused a national furor (online) as many people (secular humanists/Islamists) suggested he was targeted for his religion.
4. Even Pres. Obama tweeted support to him.
5. Obama’s staff invited him to the White House, as his spokesman said the incident was a case of “unreasoned prejudiced.”
6. Ahmed appeared at a news conference at his house, waving to reporters as his family gave reporters pizza and drinks. He is transferring school’s and accepted the President’s invitation.
7. Josh Earnest quoted: “a good illustration of pernicious stereotypes.”
8. Earnest again: “it’s clear that at least some of Ahmed’s teachers failed him.” A “teachable moment” to “search (ourselves)...for biases.”
9. The episode provoked a discussion about bias and “improper police conduct toward a nonwhite, Muslim student...”
10. Ibrahim Hooper: would not have happened if he didn’t have a Muslim name and heritage.
11. Hooper: the fault of Islamophobia, businesses declaring themselves “Muslim-free zones.”
12. People posted selfies with clocks.
13. Hillary Clinton and Mark Zuckerberg tweeted support to Ahmed.
14. Zuckerberg: Come by Facebook.
15. Ahmed: happy for support from Obama, Clinton, and Zuckerberg, praised Allah, says he “built a clock and got in a lot of trouble for it.”
—————Where WHAT HAPPENED actually begins to be discussed-————
16. Ahmed said he made the clock of a digital face and inexpensive box and brought it to show his teacher, who said it was “nice,” but not to show it around.
17. But it beeped during English class, and she said it looked like a bomb.
18. Ahmed described how he was eventually taken from school by police, and interrogated.
19. He said he was fingerprinted and mug shots were taken.
20. “The clock had a digital display, built into a metal case with a circuit board.”
21. Irving police chief said the police were justified in detaining the teen based on the information they had.
22. Police weren’t pursuing charges, however.
23. No evidence to support there was intention to create alarm, the chief said.
24. Chief was asked about if Ahmed had been white and said he would have been treated the same.
25. Ahmed: bomb was in a cheap box you could get from Target.
26. Ahmed: it made me feel like a criminal.
27. Irving S.D.: information released was “unbalanced” but they couldn’t comment further due to federal privacy laws.
28. I.S.D.: would release more information if Ahmed’s family consented in writing.
29. Twitter users: #IStandWithAhmed
30. The story generated jokes.
31. Police spokesman said Ahmed never claimed his device was anything but a clock.
32. But officers didn’t believe he was giving them the whole story.
33. Police: said it was a clock but gave no “broader explanation.”
34. Police: could be mistaken for a bomb if left somewhere; wondered why he built it.
35. School released a letter afterward about reporting suspicious behavior.
36. Letter mentioned the incident.
(Includes photo of the letter, via Twitter, with the comment, “just in case @irvingisd disappears it....”)
- I have a problem with the New York Times and all of the other secular humanist outfits assuming that they know 1 and 2 as listed above are true. Of course, they don’t, and they know that, but this is all about the culture war, the war for political power between Christians and secular humanists, so truth doesn’t matter when winning and losing are at stake.
- The New York Times article, like most of the media coverage, doesn’t even really investigate what happened, including if the English teacher was required to report her suspicion, but actually just concurs that social media and Dem politicians and VIPs got it right.
- From what the school and police said, it suggests he was aloof and not fully cooperative, wanting to make them look bad, “racist,” and overzealous.