# So a kid brings a homemade clock to school... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2015, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544 "2015-09-17T06:53:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/41 "2015-09-17T21:29:18Z")
> [@Gotlift](#): > > Clearly this kid isn’t a terrorist, but who’s to say what a bomb looks like. We have to take our shoes off because of shoe bombs and we’ve even had an attempted underwear bomber. Dynamite and big round bombs with the word BOMB on them are a thing of the past and cartoons. Seriously, unless you are a bomb squad technician you probably don’t have a qualified opinion for what a bomb could look like. A lot of stuff at airport is security theater that doesn’t make us safer. Just because unnecessary and unhelpful things are done at the airport, doesn’t mean we need to freak out at every other place as well. > [@astorian](#): > > 1. The “clock” in this case (pictures have been provided) doesn’t look anything like a clock. I don’t know WHAT it looks like. But this is not a case in which any sane, reasonable person would have told the teacher, “Chill out! What are you worried about? It’s just an ordinary clock like dozens you’d see on the shelf at Target!” Right, it doesn’t look like a normal clock from the shelf. If I saw it abandoned on a table in the cafeteria, I’m not sure I’d know what it was. I’d probably assume it was an electronic experiment from a class that was forgotten, but I could understand someone freaking out. But this wasn’t abandoned somewhere, or taped under something, or left in an abandoned slightly open backpack. He wasn’t trying to freak out people by saying it was a bomb, or throwing it back and forth to friends pretending it was a bomb. If it had been any of those cases, I could understand freaking out, and the kid getting in trouble. But it wasn’t any of those cases. This isn’t like a kid bringing a loaded gun to school to impress his friends or freak out people. This is like a kid hand carving a small statue of a tree, and the kid brings it to school to show off to his friends and art teacher about how good he’s gotten at carving, but it looks vaguely gun-shaped, and a teacher thinks it could be mistaken for a gun, and the kid getting in trouble for threatening people with a gun. Maybe we don’t have the full story, but it’s really hard for me to imagine context that would make the school’s actions make sense. ---
**Author:** ![Gotlift](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9fc348/32.png) [@Gotlift](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotlift)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/42 "2015-09-17T21:54:09Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > 1. The young Muslim student in question is the son of a publicity hound, a man who runs for President of the Sudan every few years. > COULD this be a simple, open-and-shut case . i read a quote from his father that something to the point of him (the son) wanting to make himself known to the world. He certainly did. Maybe it was a really good publicity stunt. ---
**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 18, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/43 "2015-09-18T00:12:03Z")
> [@Gotlift](#): > > i read a quote from his father that something to the point of him (the son) wanting to make himself known to the world. He certainly did. Maybe it was a really good publicity stunt. As I said elsewhere, if he can manipulate people with this much precision and ingenuity, he’s a master strategist the likes of which the world hasn’t seen in centuries. I mean, as a publicity stunt, it relied on an unbroken series of unjustified freak-outs. Far likelier, of course, is that racists and Islamophobes got caught with their bigotries showing, and that other folks who don’t want to admit that racism and Islamophobia are prevalent are searching for an alternative narrative in which the gawky nerdy teenager is somehow the Macchiavellian bad guy here. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/44 "2015-09-18T00:21:36Z")
> [@Gotlift](#): > > For example; If I am at a marathon and see a Dzhokhar Tsarnaev look alike put a backpack down and walk away, do I warn people of potential danger or do I worry about being labeled a racist if it turns out to be a forgetful kid that simply forgot his backpack? Well, no, but if you open the bag, pick it up, look at it, and say “oh my god I just picked up a bomb and I’m holding it right now, I need to carry it through the crowd to the police”? Be prepared for a little well-deserved ridicule. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/45 "2015-09-18T00:23:55Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > COULD this be a simple, open-and-shut case of bigoted teachers pushing the panic button for no reason? Yes. But this could also be a case of an Islamic activist sending his son to school with a gadget and an agenda. > > My son is a gadget builder, and has Middle Eastern friends who share his interests. If, say, one of his Iranian buddies were threatened with arrest for building a Lego robot, I’d join in the outrage. But I’m not wholly convinced yet that’s all we have here. Well, bless your little heart. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/46 "2015-09-18T01:06:33Z")
I think the situation was handled with pitiful incompetence. But I’ll be damned if [this](http://i.imgur.com/S2ph1nw.png) don’t look quite like a home-made bomb at first glance… ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/47 "2015-09-18T01:10:18Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Because it doesn’t look like a bomb, except in the mind of a total dingbat who thinks bombs look like they do in Looney Tunes. what’s a bomb look like? I’m curious. ---
**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 18, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/48 "2015-09-18T01:18:15Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > what’s a bomb look like? I’m curious. Generally speaking, a bomb needs an explosive. Without explosives, a bomb isn’t much good. Explosives don’t look like circuit boards - they look like pipes, or sticks of dynamite, or a container of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/49 "2015-09-18T01:22:34Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > what’s a bomb look like? I’m curious. Like [this](http://www.boweryboyshistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/6927523434_b71afe1d43_o.jpg)? Or [this](http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrziio3QeT1qe6nze.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/50 "2015-09-18T01:39:40Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Generally speaking, a bomb needs an explosive. Without explosives, a bomb isn’t much good. Explosives don’t look like circuit boards - they look like pipes, or sticks of dynamite, or a container of some sort. OK, he brought it to school in a container. Now it wasn’t your average bomb making container mind you, like the cooking utensil used in the Boston Marathon. Or the shoe bomb used on an airliner. How about the printer bomb plot? The thing about bombs is that there isn’t a way to identify them. A homemade anything with a timer and wires sticking out of it falls under the “if you see something suspicious say something” scenario that could save many lives. The slogan isn’t “if you see something suspicious say something unless it’s politically incorrect to do so”. We’d be having the same conversation if a ME kid left his backpack full of potato chips on a sidewalk and was arrested. ---
**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 18, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/51 "2015-09-18T01:44:31Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > OK, he brought it to school in a container. Now it wasn’t your average bomb making container mind you, like the cooking utensil used in the Boston Marathon. Or the shoe bomb used on an airliner. How about the printer bomb plot? > > The thing about bombs is that there isn’t a way to identify them. A homemade anything with a timer and wires sticking out of it falls under the “if you see something suspicious say something” scenario that could save many lives. > > The slogan isn’t “if you see something suspicious say something unless it’s politically incorrect to do so”. > > We’d be having the same conversation if a ME kid left his backpack full of potato chips on a sidewalk and was arrested. That’s moronic. By that definition, you should arrest every kid wearing shoes, carrying a book, or using a printer. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/52 "2015-09-18T01:46:43Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Like [this](http://www.boweryboyshistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/6927523434_b71afe1d43_o.jpg)? > > Or [this](http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrziio3QeT1qe6nze.jpg)? how about some actual bombs: [Like this](http://www.wearever.com/SiteCollectionImages/Mirro%20Pressure%20Cookers/W92160-6qt-Pressure-Cooker_large.jpg) [or this.](https://standeyo.com/NEWS/09_Terror/09_Terror_pics/091226.shoe.bomb.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/53 "2015-09-18T01:50:01Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > That’s moronic. > By that definition, you should arrest every kid wearing shoes, carrying a book, or using a printer. If they have wires sticking out or a timer then yes, there is reason to be suspicious. this was a container with wires sticking out and a timer. ---
**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 18, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/54 "2015-09-18T02:10:12Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If they have wires sticking out or a timer then yes, there is reason to be suspicious. > > this was a container with wires sticking out and a timer. Like [this](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Digital-clock-alarm.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/55 "2015-09-18T02:11:18Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > OK, he brought it to school in a container. Now it wasn’t your average bomb making container mind you, like the cooking utensil used in the Boston Marathon. Or the shoe bomb used on an airliner. How about the printer bomb plot? Oh give it a rest. They brought the device to the principal’s office and sat with it until the police arrived, who then transported it in their car to the police station. Nobody called the bomb squad, evacuated the school, destroyed the package, or were called away on urgent business somewhere with fewer bombs. Everyone just sort of sat around and berated the brown kid with a bog-standard electronics project. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/56 "2015-09-18T02:24:05Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Like [this](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Digital-clock-alarm.jpg)? that looks homemade to you? Do you see wires sticking out of it. That’s how bombs are made. ---
**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 18, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/57 "2015-09-18T02:26:38Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > that looks homemade to you? Do you see wires sticking out of it. That’s how bombs are made. I DO see wires sticking out of it, and that looks to me like someone opened it up and put a bunch of C4 inside. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/58 "2015-09-18T02:26:50Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Oh give it a rest. They brought the device to the principal’s office and sat with it until the police arrived, who then transported it in their car to the police station. Nobody called the bomb squad, evacuated the school, destroyed the package, or were called away on urgent business somewhere with fewer bombs. Everyone just sort of sat around and berated the brown kid with a bog-standard electronics project. kids have been busted for nibbling a pop tart into the shape of a gun or simple possessing a picture of a gun. ---
**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 18, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/59 "2015-09-18T02:28:59Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > kids have been busted for nibbling a pop tart into the shape of a gun or simple possessing a picture of a gun. I don’t think you will find anyone here who thinks that is ok, so what is your point? ---
**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 18, 2015, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544/60 "2015-09-18T02:37:44Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > kids have been busted for nibbling a pop tart into the shape of a gun or simple possessing a picture of a gun. Yes. And in those cases, the errors were twofold: -A stupid rule was set up to penalize any deliberate depiction of a weapon; and -Administrators foolishly followed the stupid rule. THIS CASE IS DIFFERENT. Ahmed was not deliberately depicting a weapon. And nobody thought he was (at least, not by the time the handcuffs came out). And he hadn’t broken any rules. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-a-kid-brings-a-homemade-clock-to-school/731544.md?page=4)