A 14-year-old brought a homemade clock to school, hoping to impress his teacher.
But Ahmed Mohamed was arrested and handcuffed because school authorities suspected it was a bomb.
Should the school be vigilant about possible bombs? Yes.
Did they overreact in this situation? HELL YES.
And as others have speculated, what would have happened if the kid was not named Mohamed?
Our friends at Gawker have culled seven examples of kids not named Mohamed who brought homemade clocks to school—most of them science fair experiments—and did not get arrested.
(1) Peter Mattis of [Wilmington, North Carolina] wanted to make a clock more complex than a sundial, so he made his own liquid clock. The clock drips green fluid into a container to mark the hour.
Green fluid? Shouldn’t the school have been suspicious about that? What if he’s a terrorist?
there are other examples in the article. i'ts not a mystery why this guy was singled out not saying schools should not be vigilant but given the other instances with no handcuffs it was probably more influenced by ethnicity then the clock itself.
profiling and stereotyping are paranoid reactions to what the republican and right wing have conspired to create in American minds. ask yourself if Bush had not ignored the warnings of Bin Laden and impending 911 attack had not happened how would we see Islamic people today.
until people other than Muslims, Black, Brown, Red and Yellow are viewed with equal scrutiny it's just bigotry. i know what goes on in mid east but Americans really just take a deep breath and move on until it comes to our door which it did that is the distinction of the mindset
