Hashtag of the Day: A Homemade Clock Gets a 9th Grader Arrested and Now Many, Many People Stand with Ahmed
Ahmed Mohamed, a 9th grader at McArthur High in Irving, Texas, was sitting in class when one of his homemade inventions began beeping. The teacher asked what it was and he brought up the digital clock he had made. She said it looked like a bomb and shortly after, police led Ahmed out of the school in handcuffs.
The Dallas Morning News gave a striking portrayal of what seems like a really good kid.
So the 14-year-old missed the student council meeting and took a trip in handcuffs to juvenile detention. His clock now sits in an evidence room. Police say they may yet charge him with making a hoax bomb — though they acknowledge he told everyone who would listen that it's a clock.
In the meantime, Ahmed's been suspended, his father is upset and the Council on American-Islamic Relations is once again eyeing claims of Islamophobia in Irving.
Ahmed's father isn't the only one who is upset. Social media has exploded in frustration over Ahmed's treatment. Through #IStandWithAhmed, bewildered supporters, many of the same generation, have taken to Twitter and Facebook to express their anger over what they see as patent racism.
So sad that this young person has to go through society's terrible perceptions and stereotypes😩 #IStandWithAhmed
— DamagedDøllar|-/ (@DamagedDollar) September 16, 2015
The Dallas Morning News posted this wrenching interview with Ahmed, which helps explain the uproar his arrest and suspension has caused.
"It made me feel like I wasn't human. It made me feel like a criminal."
Jeez.
I really hope that someday #IStandWithAhmed can laugh about this experience from his office at @NASA. I really do.
— ROAR! I'mma Dinosaur (@RoarTRex) September 16, 2015
adults love to say that our generation is dumb and ignorant but they go and arrest a Muslim kid for building a CLOCK #IStandWithAhmed
— teresa (@TeresaLindero) September 16, 2015
Misunderstanding, denigrating and humiliating a very smart person for no apparent reason other than wanton mistrust.
This is how super villains are made.