[logank013]

Originally Posted by wireties

Wrong - a key fact is missing. Was Ahmed wrongly detained BECAUSE of his race and/or culture? This is the key unknown factoid. By choosing Ahmed you are focusing public ire on persons and groups that may or may not deserve it. Also if there is something negative we do not know one risks damaging the cause and Ahmed. People will tune this kind of thing out - they already are. How many cause celebres have there been lately that turned out to be something different? Answer - too many.

Why not pick another symbol? There are plenty of documented possibilities.

At this point, race has nothing to did with our side of the argument. No matter what race he is, it was all on the teacher and admin for thinking it was a hoax bomb. As media reports, Ahmed never stated it was a bomb at all. He called it his clock (or "invention" (which we all know is not)) from the get go. Let's throw out the race card. Assuming the was no racial prejudice, it still leaves that he was wrongly detained for what he called a clock from the start. That is the real issue. I love police. They were just doing their job when the school contacted them. This issue, in my humble opinion, lies on why the teacher and admin believed it to be a hoax bomb to begin with. Even without knowledge of wiring, it should be obvious by the red display it is the insides of a clock. The whole why the teacher and admin thought it was a hoax bomb thing is something I'll probably never understand.