# RO: This is totally going to kill Bring Your Clock to School Day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 16, 2015, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454 "2015-09-16T08:35:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/81 "2015-09-16T18:44:59Z")
If I heard beeping coming from a backpack, then found what looked like fancy device with a clock on it, inside the back pack, I would freak the hell out. If it was in a school classroom, the bomb squad would be called in. And the school evacuated. And everybody in the school interrogated. Homes ripped apart, people held at gunpoint by squads of heavily armed and very dangerous men, warrants issued, dogs sniffing everywhere, because this shows the terrorists they will not win ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/82 "2015-09-16T18:48:34Z")
**FXMastermind** , that’s the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that we need here in 'Merica. Have you considered running for President? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/83 "2015-09-16T18:50:43Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > I’m guessing it’s some zero-tolerance related thing. More of a double-standard[sup]\*[/sup] related thing. By comparison, [Raw Story relates](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/white-kid-builds-nuclear-reactor-and-homeland-security-offers-help/): > [@](#): > > … When another 14-year-old boy built a nuclear reactor at his parents’ home he was invited to meet with officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Energy — who offered their expert assistance, equipment and encouragement to apply for a research grant. > > Taylor Wilson, who is white, entered his nuclear fusion reactor five years ago in a series of science fairs that eventually won him a trip to Switzerland, where he toured the Large Hadron Collider — the world’s largest particle accelerator… > > A black Florida teen was arrested and expelled in April 2013 after her science fair experiment, which involved mixing toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum foil in a plastic water bottle, created a chemical reaction that resulted in a firecracker-like “pop” and some smoke. > > The reaction caused no injuries or damage, but the principal of Bartown High School feared the device had violated school policies. > > Police charged Kiera Wilmot, then 16, with possession and discharge of a weapon on school grounds and with discharging a destructive device. > > The honors student was eventually cleared of charges and went to the U.S. Space Academy after a NASA veteran heard about her story and paid for scholarships for Wilmot and her twin sister. > [@](#): > > Of course it escalated much quicker and farther than it otherwise might have since it’s a Muslim teenager named Ahmed Mohamed. Yes. - or, the “R” word ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/84 "2015-09-16T18:52:29Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, he’s invited to visit the [White House](https://twitter.com/potus?lang=en), which is probably better than a medal. All part of his nefarious plan! ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/85 "2015-09-16T18:55:40Z")
Here’s an appropriate tweet: [https://twitter.com/JAMyerson/status/644157557137899520](https://twitter.com/JAMyerson/status/644157557137899520) > [@](#): > > Jesse A. Myerson > ‏@JAMyerson > Saying “We mistook the clock for a bomb” is a real greasy way of side-stepping the truth: “We mistook the kid for a bomb-maker.” ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/86 "2015-09-16T18:55:43Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > **FXMastermind** , that’s the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that we need here in 'Merica. Have you considered running for President? I’m just glad at least one person got the joke. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/87 "2015-09-16T19:03:28Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > If I heard beeping coming from a backpack, then found what looked like fancy device with a clock on it, inside the back pack, I would freak the hell out. . You know, this is almost exactly what frequently happens at our house when our daughter’s cellphone alarm goes off at odd hours. She forgets to turn it off, and finding the damned thing is murder. Maybe we should just call the Bomb Squad. > [@](#): > > “Reasonably appears” is the key phrase there. A circuit board with a wire and a digital display does not reasonably appear to be a bomb. It is indeed the key phrase, because it’s not really defined. Hence the “wiggle room” comment. It’s like saying that a law ought to be enacted “with all deliberate speed”. How fast is that, again? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/88 "2015-09-16T19:04:57Z")
This is clearly a case of “how dare the Muslim kid show us up” and not “we really thought it was a bomb”. Fucking inbred cowboy assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/89 "2015-09-16T19:07:19Z")
If the school officials really thought it was a bomb, why did they wait hours to call in the kid in question and not evacuate the school? Why was the “bomb” sent to the vice principal’s office and put on display? Because racism, that’s why. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/90 "2015-09-16T19:28:04Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > You know, this is almost exactly what frequently happens at our house when our daughter’s cellphone alarm goes off at odd hours. She forgets to turn it off, and finding the damned thing is murder. > Maybe we should just call the Bomb Squad. Funny thing is, cell phones are used for bomb dentonators. So back to zero tolerance, arrest everyone on school grounds with a cell phone. Now what the kid should do is claim that the clock he made is an alarm for the Islamic call to prayer and is a religious item. Texas is big on school prayer, right? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/91 "2015-09-16T19:31:09Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Really stupid post, **mhendo.** Just so you know. It is \*darling \*that you have no idea how much you undercut your position by posting that. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/92 "2015-09-16T19:31:30Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Here’s an appropriate tweet: > [x.com](https://twitter.com/JAMyerson/status/644157557137899520) Damn. That just about sums it up. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, he’s invited to visit the [White House](https://twitter.com/potus?lang=en), which is probably better than a medal. And I freakin’ love that tweet. The POTUS has: -Implicitly chastised every moron involved for being a moron to this kid; -Repudiated anti-muslim bias; -Sent a message around the world that the US isn’t really about prejudice; -Emphasized the importance of science education; and -Reached out to a kid who deserves it. That’s a beautiful use of social media. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/93 "2015-09-16T19:42:58Z")
He’s also been invited to an event at Google this weekend: Google Science Fair ✔ @googlescifair Hey Ahmed- we’re saving a seat for you at this weekend’s Google Science Fair…want to come? Bring your clock! #IStandwithAhmed And Mark Zuckerberg invited him to visit the Facebook campus. And there are a bunch of nerdy colleges that would be happy to hear from him in a few years. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/94 "2015-09-16T19:45:24Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > If I heard beeping coming from a backpack, then found what looked like fancy device with a clock on it, inside the back pack, I would freak the hell out. If it was in a school classroom, the bomb squad would be called in. > > And the school evacuated. And everybody in the school interrogated. Homes ripped apart, people held at gunpoint by squads of heavily armed and very dangerous men, warrants issued, dogs sniffing everywhere, because this shows the terrorists they will not win > [@Punoqllads](#): > > **FXMastermind** , that’s the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that we need here in 'Merica. Have you considered running for President? > [@FXMastermind](#): > > I’m just glad at least one person got the joke. Dunning-Kreuger called. They asked that somebody notify you that your posts are 36.4 percent more likely than those of the average Doper to fall into a Poe’s Law situation. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/95 "2015-09-16T19:47:18Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Damn. That just about sums it up. > And I freakin’ love that tweet. The POTUS has: > > -Implicitly chastised every moron involved for being a moron to this kid; > \ It would be freakin’ sweeter if he’d do it EXplicitly. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/96 "2015-09-16T20:06:12Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > the old “_Those who can, do …_” enthymeme You’ve been waiting for a chance to use that word ever since you joined up, haven’t you? > [@CalMeacham](#): > > You know, this is almost exactly what frequently happens at our house when our daughter’s cellphone alarm goes off at odd hours. She forgets to turn it off, and finding the damned thing is murder. That’s \*how \*we find misplaced cell phones - by calling them. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/97 "2015-09-16T20:07:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > “Reasonably appears” is the key phrase there. A circuit board with a wire and a digital display does not reasonably appear to be a bomb. It does if it’s accompanied by an Arab. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/98 "2015-09-16T20:08:41Z")
Can anybody explain why he’s (still) being suspended? ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/99 "2015-09-16T20:10:10Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Can anybody explain why he’s (still) being suspended? Failure to Kowtow to an Authority Figure. It’s all right there in the manual, really. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/100 "2015-09-16T20:10:33Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Can anybody explain why he’s (still) being suspended? The school admins and police are Tom Petty fans. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvlTJrNJ5lA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvlTJrNJ5lA) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=6)