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14-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Bringing Homemade Clock to School

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Re: 14-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Bringing Homemade Clock to School

#131
post #105

I have kids at school and I'm actually for the responses from the teachers, yes it's overacting and could be dealt with _much_ better, but being overly alert on this is better than ignorant. and it's better to show it at his house instead of at school for things like this I feel.

"things like this"

Please clarify. Things that are relevant to what you are studying in school and have been approved by your teacher for you to bring into class?

For someone who is speaking out against ignorance, this statement sure comes across as... ignorant.

Re: 14-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Bringing Homemade Clock to School

#132
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Offer support: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ws7e8WyQvrsLfhSFvdGot3n9NWK... Sign up to be notified when some plans are made: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zCtwhsEh_zB4PkuwlgAVZRTFV4I...

This needs to be at the top of this thread.

Here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10226632

Re: 14-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Bringing Homemade Clock to School

#133
post #20

This really needs to end in a civil lawsuit.

In fairness it was probably staged by the father to end in civil lawsuit.

"His father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, came from Sudan and is famous for arguing against anti-Islamic policies"

Re: 14-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Bringing Homemade Clock to School

#134
post #17

Go into any Electrical Engineering department at any university and you'll find plenty of students with boxes filled with circuit boards and electronics. Everybody who's played with electronics knows that stuff is brittle and needs to be protected carefully. One wire coming loose renders your entire work obsolete and unlike software, there's no debugger to tell you where you potentially screwed up... Racial profiling…

That's not even the issue to me. It's like fine you "suspected" it. How difficult was it to not suspect it anymore? Like did the arrest and the accusations need to happen. It's almost like attempting to traumatize the kid and his peers for no good reason and for what? Security theater? Because he was brown or a Muslim and did not know that brown or Muslim people should not bring electronics that might be suspected wi…

> How difficult was it to not suspect it anymore?

Excellent observation. It's really about people conditioned to follow scripts.

These people were missing the "de-escalation script" in which a teacher laughs, puts their hand on their forehead and says,

    "Wow, That scared the shit out of me for a minute there.  Now let's show you how to make a tidy wooden box for your amazing clock project."

Re: 14-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Bringing Homemade Clock to School

#135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is he handcuffed?

He might poke one of the five responding police officers with those toothpick arms, obviously.

The officers feared for their lives. He's lucky he didn't get tased, or shot.

Re: 14-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Bringing Homemade Clock to School

#136
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you really want to tie them in knots, get a bunch of small "Amazon"-type (empty) cardboard boxes, and write "BOMB" in bold letters with a magic marker on the sides. Distribute the boxes in slightly-hidden spots, like Easter eggs. Fun times! EDIT: Thanks Mike, that's a great improvement!

Make three boxes. Label them BOMB 1, BOMB 2, and BOMB 4. Put them in various places around the school. Grab some popcorn and a comfy chair.

And then die slow death from NSA interrogation, great plan.

Re: 14-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Bringing Homemade Clock to School

#137
post #36

Apparently the authorities have determined that the best way to stop terrorism is to discourage any manifestation of personal intelligence, so that the population turns into mindless sheep. "If you don't know how to make a clock, you won't know how to make a time bomb" is their reasoning. It is seriously disturbing. I am reminded of stories of kids opening a command prompt and being accussed of "hacking", only this i…

> If you don't know how to make a clock, you won't know how to make a time bomb" is their reasoning Do you have any sources to back up that claim? It this really their line of thinking? Or did you just deduce this from their actions, i.e. that they seem to think that way?

These topics bring the tin foil wearers out in droves. No, the government isn't cracking down on the intelligence of youth, it requires it to progress and grow. I don't recall any black SUVs outside my door when I built an alarm clock that had selective electronic outputs for my school project. Hell, my teachers docked marks because I didn't take it far enough and they felt I could add more features and better design.

Re: 14-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Bringing Homemade Clock to School

#138
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you really want to tie them in knots, get a bunch of small "Amazon"-type (empty) cardboard boxes, and write "BOMB" in bold letters with a magic marker on the sides. Distribute the boxes in slightly-hidden spots, like Easter eggs. Fun times! EDIT: Thanks Mike, that's a great improvement!

Make three boxes. Label them BOMB 1, BOMB 2, and BOMB 4. Put them in various places around the school. Grab some popcorn and a comfy chair.

And then you will complain when they bring charges against you.

Re: 14-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Bringing Homemade Clock to School

#139

You can't legislate intelligence. Yesterday I went to my daughter's school's open house. When I entered, I was cornered by an administrator and told I had to sign some paperwork before I left. It was the computer policy. After I signed it, the admin said my daughter had to sign it too. She's 4.

>You can't legislate intelligence.

Not but you can severely punish idiocy, so that it doesn't dare act that way again (and I mean the idiocy of the police in the story, or the people having your daughter sign BS)..

Re: 14-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Bringing Homemade Clock to School

#140
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not even the issue to me. It's like fine you "suspected" it. How difficult was it to not suspect it anymore? Like did the arrest and the accusations need to happen. It's almost like attempting to traumatize the kid and his peers for no good reason and for what? Security theater? Because he was brown or a Muslim and did not know that brown or Muslim people should not bring electronics that might be suspected wi…

> How difficult was it to not suspect it anymore? Excellent observation. It's really about people conditioned to follow scripts. These people were missing the "de-escalation script" in which a teacher laughs, puts their hand on their forehead and says, "Wow, That scared the shit out of me for a minute there. Now let's show you how to make a tidy wooden box for your amazing clock project."

Well I guess they could logically suspect that he might be doing something more sinister than just bringing around a clock project. So fine get a court order to search his house while keeping him detained at school. Find nothing. Apologize and let him go.
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