Going to meet my lawyer. pic.twitter.com/YCxOOeOz3Z
— Ahmed Mohamed (@IStandWithAhmed) September 16, 2015
We’ve been following the story of Texas high school student, Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school, and we – along with many prominent folks – stand with Ahmed.
Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great. — President Obama (@POTUS) September 16, 2015
Assumptions and fear don’t keep us safe—they hold us back. Ahmed, stay curious and keep building. https://t.co/ywrlHUw3g1
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 16, 2015
Kudos: Zuckerberg invites Ahmed to stop by Facebook. https://t.co/OkpPTZnu9o — Dan Gillmor (@dangillmor) September 16, 2015
Hey Ahmed, give me a call in a couple years. We could always use smart, curious & creative people. https://t.co/02a4feMrk5 — Bobak Ferdowsi (@tweetsoutloud) September 16, 2015
It wasn’t just prominent folks, either. Ordinary citizens, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, are showing support for Ahmed – as well as for the ideals he stands for: ingenuity, creativity, and a love of STEM.
Brought my clock to work today. #IStandWithAhmed #Solidarity pic.twitter.com/h4Jr0siF1A
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SimranColumbia) September 16, 2015
#IStandWithAhmed because I’m a physicist at MIT, and he’s the kind of student we dream of having! — Claire Lecaron (@Clairouux) September 16, 2015
Not a word of sympathy from the town mayor to the kid who was arrested for building a clock or his family pic.twitter.com/wR2AjHxxOg
— Adam Serwer (@AdamSerwer) September 16, 2015
Here is a crap statement by Irving School. I fixed it for them. #IStandWithAhmed http://t.co/oJgy2bjo4N pic.twitter.com/qW8abiiCgI — heidi heilig (@heidiheilig) September 16, 2015
Well, at the very least, Irving, TX police came to their senses and are not pressing charges against the student. According to the Dallas Morning News, Irving Police Chief Larry Boyd said:
The follow-up investigation revealed the device apparently was a homemade experiment, and there’s no evidence to support the perception he intended to create alarm.
Oh, great. That required putting a child in handcuffs. Because as we know, all students show the bombs they bring to school to their engineering teachers first before their English teachers report them. Â And of course, this decision by the Irving police was despite the fact that Ahmed’s clock was:
[C]ertainly suspicious in nature. The student showed the device to a teacher, who was concerned that it was possibly the infrastructure for a bomb.
And that’s what this is all about. As I’ve written about before – it all comes down to that one scared white person who makes a phone call or reports something based on bias. This isn’t about the Irving police. This isn’t even about the Irving school district. This is about one teacher’s bias and ignorance causing a firestorm in the life of a child. Thankfully, much of the world seems ready to embrace this child, and I have a feeling that he’ll have loads of opportunities when he leaves school. But he shouldn’t have had to deal with this in the first place.
Same country, Same State, Same Police, Same People, Just 1 Brown Muslim & 1 White kid #IStandWithAhmed pic.twitter.com/RNeWaVaDb3
— Farhan Khan Virk (@FarhanKVirk) September 16, 2015
(via Dallas Morning News)
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