14-year-old Texas boy arrested for bringing homemade clock

[Cow Poke]

The thread's gone between comparing Muslim/Christian and White/Other. I would agree that there's probably more of a racial/cultural element to this than a strictly religious one. I doubt, for instance, that the police officers asked what the kid's religion is.

The focus seemed to be on the fact that he was a Muslim from the very beginning. Why, then, would the police need to ask what religion he is? A Muslim is, by definition, a follower of the religion of Islam.

What am I missing?

[Sea of red]

Answer to SoR:


Doesn't justify not investigating. I agree that the school overstepped but not because they questioned an unknown device but because they showed no sense in how they subsequently handled the matter.

Innocence is not justification for judicial inaction unless proven.

Judicial? It's a school yard not a courtroom. And it wasn't an unknown device after the kid repeatedly tried to talk sense into these imbeciles. I guarantee this would not have gone as far as it did if it was another ethnicity, and I bet deep down you know that too.

Yes, they have to protect the kids, but it sounds like with their knowledge level of explosives and lack of common sense, they'd be in serious trouble if a real terrorist ever tried the real thing. Scaring a kid and accusing him of one of the worst crimes does nothing to make the world safer - and in fact makes it darker.

[Sea of red]

The focus seemed to be on the fact that he was a Muslim from the very beginning. Why, then, would the police need to ask what religion he is? A Muslim is, by definition, a follower of the religion of Islam.

What am I missing?

It's got more to do with the fact that he has Middle Eastern ethnicity in his blood.

[Cow Poke]

And it wasn't an unknown device after the kid repeatedly tried to talk sense into these imbeciles.

Can you show where he "tried to talk sense" beyond just repeating "it's a clock"? That appears to be the complaint of the officials, was that he wouldn't say more than "it's a clock".

[Cow Poke]

It's got more to do with the fact that he has Middle Eastern ethnicity in his blood.

I think that's a stretch. Quite obviously, not everybody from the Middle East is a Muslim, and it's the Islamist aspect that's a threat, not ethnicity.

[Sea of red]

Can you show where he "tried to talk sense" beyond just repeating "it's a clock"? That appears to be the complaint of the officials, was that he wouldn't say more than "it's a clock".

What more could he say? He tried to explain the components functions and how it related to it being a clock. It's not his fault that they don't know what the hell a bomb actually contains.

[whag]

The focus seemed to be on the fact that he was a Muslim from the very beginning. Why, then, would the police need to ask what religion he is? A Muslim is, by definition, a follower of the religion of Islam.

What am I missing?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/m...ock-to-school/

[Sea of red]

I think that's a stretch. Quite obviously, not everybody from the Middle East is a Muslim, and it's the Islamist aspect that's a threat, not ethnicity.

How do we typically identify Muslims? Yeah, I think you know how.

[Sam]

The focus seemed to be on the fact that he was a Muslim from the very beginning. Why, then, would the police need to ask what religion he is? A Muslim is, by definition, a follower of the religion of Islam.

What am I missing?

Muslim

[Sea of red]

<-----666.

[Cow Poke]

What more could he say? He tried to explain the components functions and how it related to it being a clock. It's not his fault that they don't know what the hell a bomb actually contains.

Relax, SoR, we're just talking. So, when I say that the officials said he wouldn't explain, but kept saying "it's a clock", and that's all, you ask "what more could he say", and then say he tried to explain more.

So, which is it.... did he just keep saying "it was a clock", as the officials reported, or did he "try to explain the components function" like you're claiming?

[Cow Poke]

Muslim

His father claims it's because of his name - which is a Muslim name, not just a "middle east" name.

From the cite in the OP -- "The boy's father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, said his son was "mistreated" because of his name and "because of Sept. 11."

[Cow Poke]

How do we typically identify Muslims? Yeah, I think you know how.

Their name is a huge clue - we really have no idea what their "race" is. The name has to do with their religion, not their race or country of origin.

[Sam]

His father claims it's because of his name - which is a Muslim name, not just a "middle east" name.

From the cite in the OP -- "The boy's father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, said his son was "mistreated" because of his name and "because of Sept. 11."

Yeah, that's an ethnic aspect.

[Sea of red]

Relax, SoR, we're just talking. So, when I say that the officials said he wouldn't explain, but kept saying "it's a clock", and that's all, you ask "what more could he say", and then say he tried to explain more.

So, which is it.... did he just keep saying "it was a clock", as the officials reported, or did he "try to explain the components function" like you're claiming?

Stop trying to find a contradiction that you can pick at. The kid tried to explain himself as good as he could; I'm sure he never imagined this happening. Put yourself in his shoes. He's just a fourteen year old boy still scared of the world, a small geeky kid, and he's being questioned like he's meant harm to someone. Then he's handcuffed, not allowed to call his Dad, and taken to the city jailhouse.

I know I would have been peeing in my pants if that had happened to me as a kid.