# 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:** 50
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/981 "2015-09-28T14:55:43Z")
What on earth is going on that so many (presumably) grown-ass adults are getting so much enjoyment about calling a freshman kid _stupid_? What, and I mean this very sincerely, the fuck is wrong with you people? ---
**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 28, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/982 "2015-09-28T14:59:49Z")
You know, a real smart kid would build a clock, just like the one in question, on video, and put it on youtube. That would be a smart thing to do. It would only take him ten minutes to do. Like the video that showed somebody making a clock exactly like his, in 20 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/983 "2015-09-28T15:06:44Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > …To try and justify any of the administration’s actions based on potential issues with a disassembled clock is missing the point. > > The outpouring of support for Ahmed isn’t because he’s a great inventor. It’s because people are ashamed of the racism he’s being subjected to and they want to let him know that not everyone thinks that. They want to let him know that some people think it’s impressive and that they see him in a positive light. (post shortened) The “disassembled clock” is the point. No “disassembled clock” means no school disruption. No school disruption means the teacher wouldn’t have had contact the Principle. etc, etc, etc. Ahmed “the clock-making teen” Mohamed repeatedly made mistakes. You believe that is impressive. :rolleyes: Obama responded by repeated his I-don’t-know-the-facts-but-the-teachers/principle/police-acted-stupidly shtick. I don’t find that to be very impressive at all. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/984 "2015-09-28T15:07:27Z")
What would it prove? At best, he’d essentially be taking the clock apart and putting it back together. Then people would whine that he just took the clock apart and put it back together. Also, not to point out the obvious, but you do realize that the “20 second” video isn’t serious, right? Clocks usually have screws and things are attached inside and stuff and don’t just dump out like a can of cat food. No, it’s not a long process (might even be within ten minutes!) but it’s not twenty seconds either. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/985 "2015-09-28T15:12:24Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Sure, it’s an “active” thing as opposed to staring at a CPU. I suppose it’s possible that the kid had a soldering iron handy but no idea how to use it or what it’s used for. This would be the same kid with the foresight to purchase a soldering iron in case he needs one for a photograph in his house but couldn’t noodle out to buy a DIY clock kit for his clock-bomb-clock to cover his story. You’re spinning quite a yarn, there. All I know is that people seemed hell bent on convincing me that he really _isn’t_ an electronics guru and that’s why we shouldn’t question his motives for bringing a lackluster project into school, and now that I’m finally in general agreement with that based on the evidence I’m seeing and pointing out, I’m being accused of taking joy in calling him stupid. \ ---
**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 28, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/986 "2015-09-28T15:15:03Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Also, not to point out the obvious, but you do realize that the “20 second” video isn’t serious, right? The end result of taking a real clock and shoving it into a pencil case, looks exactly like the “clock” Ahmed brought to school. The clock > **[Nearly All Agree: Ahmed's 'Clock' Looks Like a Bomb](https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2015/09/26/nearly-all-agree-ahmeds-clock-looks-like-a-bomb/)** > > Nearly All Agree: Ahmed's 'Clock' Looks Like a Bomb The clock But it’s just a joke right? We all know he didn’t just shove an existing clock into a pencil case and claim he created it. Because that would be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/987 "2015-09-28T15:27:55Z")
“You didn’t build that”. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/988 "2015-09-28T15:46:56Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > You’re spinning quite a yarn, there. Am I? Thinking that someone owns a soldering iron because he might sometimes, you know, solder is “spinning a yarn”? Huh. Ok then. I never claimed he was a “guru” or an “expert”. I have said that, by all appearance, he performed what was essentially a case mod on a clock, thought it looked cool and brought it in. I’ve also repeatedly questioned the idea that this was a hoax that would rely on Ahmed asserting it was just an “invented” clock but no one would bother to spend $30 on a kit to make that assertion sound reasonable. Related to that, I find it peculiar that he would own a soldering iron just because but rather believe he was posing for a photo at the photographer’s direction. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/989 "2015-09-28T16:24:53Z")
Holy crap, **steronz** and **FXMastermind** are schmucks. It’s obvious that neither of you have ever been photographed for an article. The photographer says “grab the board and hold the iron, and let me see your face.” I’ve seen big-budget films where they had someone dripping solder off of an iron onto a PCB. The simple fact is, 99% of the people in the word don’t know how to solder, so the Photographer doesn’t care how accurate it looks - only douches like you two care. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/990 "2015-09-28T16:33:15Z")
Well, this is the “evidence” now that the kid is a hoaxster so of course the pose in the photo must be really important stuff. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/991 "2015-09-28T16:35:21Z")
eta: (in response to **beowulff’s** needlessly antagonistic post) Fine. ---
**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 28, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/992 "2015-09-28T16:35:53Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > The photographer says “grab the board and hold the iron, and let me see your face.” Like I thought, it’s fake. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/993 "2015-09-28T16:36:31Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Well, this is the “evidence” now that the kid is a hoaxster so of course the pose in the photo must be really important stuff. ??? I pointed out the photo as evidence that the kid is _not_ a hoaxster. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/994 "2015-09-28T16:40:43Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Like I thought, it’s fake. It’s a _photograph_ - it’s posed, not “faked.” Do you consider [this](http://www.iwojima.com/bond/lflage.gif) photograph a fake? It was posed, too. ---
**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 28, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/995 "2015-09-28T16:42:41Z")
By “fake”, I mean **it was something some media idiot created** , not a photo the youngster put up on Facebook or twitter. There are a lot of people feeding off this kid, and they are making him look bad. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/996 "2015-09-28T16:56:04Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > All of this escalation is because he has brown skin, is a Muslim, and has a Middle Eastern name. The administrators looked at the clock through their personal prejudices and came to the conclusion that it was a bomb, he was trying to make a bomb, or that he was making a hoax bomb. To them, there was no other possibility because that’s all that Middle Eastern Muslims do with electronics that look like that. If he said it was a clock, he was clearly lying because he’s a bomb-making Muslim like they all are. > > To try and justify any of the administration’s actions based on potential issues with a disassembled clock is missing the point. There’s no way the police get called and the student arrested just for a minor potential fire hazard. If the student was white and non-Muslim none of this would happen. > > The outpouring of support for Ahmed isn’t because he’s a great inventor. It’s because people are ashamed of the racism he’s being subjected to and they want to let him know that not everyone thinks that. They want to let him know that some people think it’s impressive and that they see him in a positive light. By “let him know”, you actually mean “make him think”. Right? > [@Terr](#): > > “You didn’t build that”. Heh. Even if the photographer said “do something science-y”, why on earth would he think that would qualify? Suspicion level back to 60%. ---
**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 28, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/997 "2015-09-28T16:59:24Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > All of this escalation is because he has brown skin, is a Muslim, and has a Middle Eastern name. The administrators looked at the clock through their personal prejudices and came to the conclusion that it was a bomb, he was trying to make a bomb, or that he was making a hoax bomb. To them, there was no other possibility because that’s all that Middle Eastern Muslims do with electronics that look like that. So you really think if it was some dumb ass white kid who did it, nobody would give a shit? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/998 "2015-09-28T17:06:47Z")
I it’s less likely a white kid would be arrested. ---
**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 28, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/999 "2015-09-28T17:08:53Z")
Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1000 "2015-09-28T17:14:13Z")
Because he is dark skinned, that’s all it takes, and once they knew he had an arab-souding name, that was frosting on the arrest cake. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=49) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=51)