Back in the day, science lab was fun, particularly the day it was blown up. (Seriously.)
I cosign all of LHoD’s posts since my last one. (Apologies, LHoD, if my endorsement is the kiss of death.)
I would also reiterate that so many of the people in this thread are talking about this kid as though he were much younger than 14 or had an intellectual disability like Down syndrome. Do you actually remember the age of 14? My oldest son is 15, and four of the players in the tennis ladder I run are 14, so I have a perhaps unfair advantage of current examples to compare to. But I suspect all of them would be offended by the low expectations presented here for 14-year-olds. Now, all five of the kids I know are well above average in intelligence; but I thought that was the idea everyone has about Ahmed as well…?
Your apology is dogshit, since you don’t mean it, and since you only endorse what I’m saying as long as it appears to you to shit on Ahmed. I’m not shitting on Ahmed like you’re doing, though, so you’re endorsing me because you’re too dumb to understand what I’m actually saying.
Yeah, nice try at going on the offensive, boy genius.
Not exactly. An earlier post quoted the relevant Texas statutes. Intent does not affect whether it’s a hoax bomb. However, the offense itself requires intent.
I *did *actually mean it. But I confess I don’t keep track of various people’s screen names for more than the few minutes I’m directly engaged with them in a thread. Then it just kind of all melts away (if you want to say this is a form of stupidity, I’ll plead guilty). So I take it you and I were at it, hammer and tongs, earlier in the thread? Or maybe you’re just doing this now to try to dissociate yourself from me for the obvious reason I alluded to.
In any case, I am not “shitting on Ahmed”. I am actually defending him as being smarter than many are giving him credit for. And I began the thread by saying that a prank bomb is the kind of thing I could imagine myself doing at that age. Not sure how that translates into “shitting on him”.
Furthermore, I do agree with the particulars of what you’ve said in recent posts (this latest unhinged rant excepted). Including that “Calling the police is the moment where things went off the rails.”
And I doubt this was part of the plan. More like, Ahmed gets called to the principal’s office or even suspended/given ISS, and then Dad makes as much hay as possible about it on social media or maybe even with local media (who had profiled him previously). Getting the money shot in handcuffs, which rocketed the stunt into the stratosphere and caught the attention of the White House, Zuckerberg, etc., was gravy. (Although I have to assume he’s at least a little nervous about the increased scrutiny that potentially goes hand in hand with this kind of attention.)
Oh, and I suppose since this is the Pit, I should return fire on you, LHoD. Ummm…let’s see…uh, you’re a poopyhead. Shit fuck cunt. Etc. Mmkay? Good enough? Did I fill the quota? 
Trust me: I don’t think you’re stupid based on this failing.
What a brilliantly subtle insult. You must be real doggone proud of that one. <pat pat>
BTW, just a helpful hint for you and the other shit-flingers, that your barbs might be better aimed: the claims that I’m “stupid”, “cretinous”, etc., are incredibly ineffectual. It’s like trying to insist to John Isner that he’s super short.
When I’m dinged for being a “douchebag” (I like to think I’m not, but when so many people claim otherwise, it does give me pause) or mock me as pathetically lamenting the fact that I have not achieved greater recognition or status, that does leave a mark. So you might steer more in that direction in the future if you want to make an impact. HTH
This segment from Bill Maher’s show is interesting. Surprisingly, I disagree with a fair bit of what Bill said (I usually am very simpatico with him, except on the subject of parenting). And although Cuban is a right wing ass, the report of the sister feeding Ahmed all his lines is interesting. Overall, I agree most with what Chris Matthews had to say in his brief chance to talk.
Left Hand of Dorkness my point is that “intent” is indeed not within anyone’s investigative scope. So given that EVERYTHING can be the prop in in a bomb hoax there was never anything to “kick upstairs”.
You have just justified loading completely unnecessary suspicion on a student. By your reasoning he can be sent to the principal for bringing a packed lunch.
The problem is the teacher’s, the principal’s and the cop’s xenophobic paranoia.
The idea that this clock thingy has “bomb-like” qualities is dangerously ignorant. All you need for a bomb is a power source, some kind of switch (remote or timed is optional), a detonator and the actual explosive. Any practical bomb will look conserably more simple than this clock. The clock has only 2 of 4 necessary parts. As does your phone, your calculator, the thermostat on the wall; hell the light switch will do. Given that almost any electronic switch will do nicely it is beyond idiotic to claim the clock looks like a bomb. There is nothing to suggest a detonater or explosives.
The only place where bombs have a big clock is in the movies.
And where do 99% of people get their idea of what a bomb looks like from?
Even if I knew exactly what a real bomb looked like (and I do not–I’m one of the 99%, given that the crude “screw on the cap and run” explosives my friend and I made in high school don’t count), if I were making a hoax bomb, you’d better believe I’d put a big clock on it.
Slacker, I’m confused: are you claiming this contraption was a purpose made “hoax bomb”? Or are you claiming it is reasonable for someone to mistake the clock for a bomb?
Upon reflection; I think you are claiming it is reasonable for a teacher to claim they mistook it for a hoax bomb.
You see how lost the word “reasonable” looks in that sentence?
If you are so gung-ho to persecute Muslims why all the contrived reasoning?
Let me help you:
Ahmed is Muslim, we are waging war with people who are also Muslim, therefore Ahmed is our enemy and he should be shot on sight. (Or at the very least deported)
There; that was easy; a logical argument that can be made without mystical “hoax bombs”, without divining Ahmed’s intent. All you have to do is be honest about your intent.
Everything I say here is 100% honest. Which is precisely what gets so many people’s dander up. I am not pussyfooting around, I assure you.
Yes you are: You just keep on trying to wrap your xenophobic agenda in bullshit “hoax bomb” theories while all the time you are sure Ahmed is 100% guilty of being a Muslim and therefore a terrorist. (Which is the only logic that lets the teacher off the hook)
You might consider that if I’m not saying what you think I really think, it’s because I don’t really think what you think I think.
Which is not to say I have any fondness for Islam. I dislike all religion, with that one being at the top of my shit list. Yet IRL the only atheists I’m close to are my wife and son;* my close personal friends are religious. So in fact, I’m a little more tolerant than you are giving me credit for, but I’m sure you’ll just say this is a lie. (Why I would say some inflammatory things without a hint of reticence, but refuse to say others despite my allegedly believing them, I can’t imagine.)
*Thinking about this a bit more, my eldest son is the aggressive atheist, but I’m pretty sure my eldest daughter is a nonbeliever as well although she doesn’t discuss the subject much. My two youngest children are too young to classify either way, but they’re certainly not going to be indoctrinated by my wife and me.
WTF? Of course it is. How can you justify this conclusion? Have you ever been in a position of authority over children?
I agree it doesn’t look like a bomb. It does, however, look like it might be a hoax bomb. Do you understand this distinction?
The fact that you’re equating this to a packed lunch indicates that you don’t.
Your interpretation of the father engineering this event to skyrocket his family in to the national spotlight is worthy of far more coverage than your little newsletter provides. Have you considered a novella?
Bill Maude’s disdain for religion is greater then his liberal critical thinking, thus to him a Muslim teenager should be rightly profiled.
Logic 101, by SlackerInc:
-
I think that Ahmed’s dad is a self-promoting douchebag who orchestrated this whole fraud, so therefore you are guilty of the soft bigotry of low expectations.
-
I have a 15 year old, so therefore, yeah, because.
-
When I was 14, I tricked my sister with BASIC coding skills, so therefore Ahmed is committing fraud.
Clearly this guy is a genius. I don’t know how I haven’t been convinced yet!
Is the place where this happened basically next door to a town, where couple of months ago two Muslim terrorists where shot and killed, while attempting to gun down participants of “Draw Muhammed” event?