We Need More Kids Like Ahmed

[platatomi]

I suppose many of you are familiar with the story of Ahmed Mohamed, the youth who was arrested on federal charges for building a clock as a science project to impress his teacher. Ahmed happens to be of the Muslim faith.

While the arrest was an unfortunate mistake, I am shocked at the number of people who have become unhinged because of the praise and support offered to Ahmed by the President and various leading science and technology experts. What is this world coming to? Encouraging a smart, talented young boy to persue his interests in science and engineering and electronics? Kids like this are building our future, just as they built the world we live in now. An astonishing number of revolutionary startups like Google, Tesla, AT&T, Intel, Comcast, ebay, etc. were founded by immigrants. We NEED kids like this! Who cares what their religion is, if any?

Bald-faced racism. If this were a white boy, they would be singing a different tune.

</end rant>

[Blackleaf]

If he were a white boy, he still would have been arrested, but it wouldn't have made national news.

[stromboli]

If he were a white boy, he still would have been arrested, but it wouldn't have made national news.

That is an assumption. We do not know if a white boy would be arrested or not, and the fact is that the arrest was probably trumped because his father is formerly a candidate for the president of Sudan. There is another piece on the internet that some are saying the clock he built was actually a working clock he took out of a case. The jury is still out on the whole thing.

And you can bet money that Obama knows all the details and is using this for some end of his own.

[drunkenshoe]

If he were a white boy, he still would have been arrested, but it wouldn't have made national news.

Ah no. I'm not buying that. If he was a white boy, he wouldn't get arrested.

[platatomi]

If he were white, the teacher may well have not over-reacted and called the authorities in the first place. And if they were called and him arrested, I doubt we would see people coming out and criticising people who are supporting him, Obama, Zuckerberg, and Nasa scientists.

[pr126]

I wonder what would your reaction be if you asked for the time in Starbucks and the person sitting next to you opened this briefcase to show you the time?

Would it put you off of your latte?

[Blackleaf]

People take possible bomb threats very seriously, especially in schools. I imagine the reaction you'd get for bringing in a suitcase that opens up into an electric clock would get the same reaction as flashing a toy gun that looks like a real gun. I know that kids don't have a fully developed brain, and don't make good decisions because of that, but didn't he show this clock to his parents? Did they not think his invention could maybe get a different reaction than what was intended?

[stromboli]

People take possible bomb threats very seriously, especially in schools. I imagine the reaction you'd get for bringing in a suitcase that opens up into an electric clock would get the same reaction as flashing a toy gun that looks like a real gun. I know that kids don't have a fully developed brain, and don't make good decisions because of that, but didn't he show this clock to his parents? Did they not think his invention could maybe get a different reaction than what was intended?

It wasn't a bomb threat. He brought a clock to school. that doesn't constitute a threat by itself any more than me bringing a radio to the park. You keep extrapolating from little or no information. That is essentially the basis of a hysterical response, like yelling fire in a theater.

We don't know because we didn't witness it. Everybody is making assumptions without knowing all the facts. But as I said in my first post, there may have been other motives involved, and until we know the facts don't draw conclusions from too little or no evidence.

[pr126]

LOL talk about a media circus.

[Mike Cl]

If he were a white boy, he still would have been arrested, but it wouldn't have made national news.

I disagree quite strongly.  If he were white we would know nothing about this--for nothing would have been said.

[Sylar]

I agree that we need more people like Ahmad. Creative people with initiative that drive innovation. And all that regardless of faith.

But the story of his arrest should not have made news. The president of the US apologized and invited him to the White House -- not sure why this is necessary. What Ahmad did -- and pardon me for being blunt -- was reinvent the wheel. Commendable for his age, perhaps, sure.

But meanwhile in Mauritania for example, a 28 year old blogger is sentenced to death because he dared to blog about the Prophet of Islam. That is one example, among others, which are much more deserving of news coverage -- and whose stories seldom (and almost never) make it viral on the web.

[baronvonrort]

There are a lot of Islamic terrorists who have engineering degrees, it has got to the point where muslims question if engineering studies can radicalise them into becoming terrorists.

Muslims are saying it's engineering studies and not the Quran that create terrorists, if that is the case can someone explain why non muslim engineers don't become terrorists?
www.google.com.au/?gws_rd=ssl#q=engineering+and+terrorism

[pr126]

Children on Hamas TV

[pr126]

The clock was a masterpiece of social engineering.

From an old clock and a pencil case he created a the most valuable of liberal possessions, victimhood.
Bravo that kid. He does deserve presidential attention.

I wonder if he had parental guidance.

[drunkenshoe]

Somebody makes a reasonable thread about a how outregous and hostile the reactions to a 14 year old kid making a clock and bringing to school is treated like a terrorist; handcuffed and arrested and then promoted in media.

Blackleaf is posting about how normal is this and if he was white same thing would happen, but we wouldn't hear it in the news while terrorist is used as an equal term to muslim. baronvonrort is posting about how some terrorists have engineering talents (as if they are some sort of an other species or if it is something equal to chimps that can drive) and pr is writing how he created himself a victimhood as if the kid planned to get arrested and then somehow pulled a stunt to make the president of USA to invite himself to the White House.

A bunch of posters are jerking each other on how there is no such thing as Islamophobia in another thread, because they hate Islam and Christanity the same way, living in a Christian country.

And I bet this post counts a 'rampage', because drunkenshoe wrote it, by posters who has her in ignore .

You got to love this forum of sceptics and free thinkers.