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Originally Posted by FrankJ
The big assumption here is what happened to Ahmed is based on institutional racism. It might well be but nobody has presented any proof. Schools over react & over discipline frequently for reasons other than institutional racism. Ahmed jokingly telling a friend he was going to blow up the school moves the school's reaction to just overreaching. This is hypothetical; no disrespect to Ahmed is intended.
If the response is just to prove we are not all racist then it is a little silly. (not directed at Sean or you) If it is to have a meaningful discussion on how to overcome remaining vestiges of discrimination great. Either way it seems that Ahmed is becoming a symbol & the actual facts are unimportant. "When the legend becomes the fact, print the legend" Maxwell Scott
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Exposing the effects of institutional racism can be very difficult. Even in the absence of definitive proof that those involved in this case were motivated by racism, the possibility itself offers an opportunity for us to discuss problems that need to be solved (and, I'd argue, are not mere vestiges of our checkered past).
In this case, I don't think you need proof of some overt action taken by the teacher, administration, or police; rather, the lack of similar incidents of this kind of perceived overreaction -- notably involving students who are not minorities -- seems to point toward Ahmed's race and religion playing some part in how he was treated.