Heh. I see a journalist has linked this story to "irrational fear", which is what I've been trying to touch upon.
Her article is about parenting, but there's a larger picture here. I hate to use this link because I think it's generic and will likely be updated, but as of now it's the only link I can get:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/column/In case the link is updated it's an column by Wendy Thomas Russell entitled
Ahmed's clock proves it's time to disarm our irrational fearBefore I dive into what I consider the larger picture, I noticed something in the first sentence of her piece:
The heartbreaking story of a Texas 9th-grader arrested because he had the gall to make a clock and bring it to school to show his engineering teacher has left Americans understandably reeling.
Engineering teacher! Dear God! This makes this so much worse! If this kid showed this to an engineering teacher and that teacher was the one who felt the need to contact police, we have, in my opinion, two options to choose from:
1. The engineering teacher is completely ignorant of basic science.
2. The engineering teacher is a complete bigot.
While I mentioned the kid's religion, I wasn't trying to make a big a deal of it. Now that I know the teacher he showed this to was supposed to be teaching engineering, I'm having second thoughts. Wow!
That interview with Ahmed indicate that the "authorities" were interested in the fact he decided to put it in a case. Yeah, why the hell would anyone want electronics in a case?
Now as to that larger picture...
As an American citizen, I can see how this incident demonstrates something very wrong in our society. Our, as Wedny put it, irrational fear is beyond ridiculous. In fact, I'd say that other than intellectual dishonesty, it's likely the single biggest issue facing us. It's been the driver behind post-9/11 America. It starts with a bit of intellectual dishonesty:
Deny the fact that 9/11 could have been prevented if two governmental agencies would have communicated with each other. Then let the irrational fear take over:
Spy on everybody, that will keep us safe!!! Get molested at the airport to ensure you're not carrying anything bad!!! You need to buy a product to keep you healthy (Obamacare)!!! Yes, I know, to the intellectually dishonest, that's racism! We need someone to make sure our kids eat right because their parents are to stupid to do that. More racism to the intellectually dishonest because that was Michelle's signature shit. As with the "Helecopter Parents" in Wendy's column, It's all variations of the same theme. We need protected from everything.
Now take a good look at Ahmed and ask yourself, do you think this bullshit leads anywhere good?
Heh. I see a journalist has linked this story to "irrational fear", which is what I've been trying to touch upon.
Her article is about parenting, but there's a larger picture here. I hate to use this link because I think it's generic and will likely be updated, but as of now it's the only link I can get:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/column/
In case the link is updated it's an column by Wendy Thomas Russell entitled [i]Ahmed's clock proves it's time to disarm our irrational fear[/i]
Before I dive into what I consider the larger picture, I noticed something in the first sentence of her piece:
[quote]The heartbreaking story of a Texas 9th-grader arrested because he had the gall to make a clock and bring it to school to show his engineering teacher has left Americans understandably reeling.[/quote]
Engineering teacher! Dear God! This makes this so much worse! If this kid showed this to an engineering teacher and that teacher was the one who felt the need to contact police, we have, in my opinion, two options to choose from:
[list]1. The engineering teacher is completely ignorant of basic science.
2. The engineering teacher is a complete bigot.[/list]
While I mentioned the kid's religion, I wasn't trying to make a big a deal of it. Now that I know the teacher he showed this to was supposed to be teaching engineering, I'm having second thoughts. Wow!
That interview with Ahmed indicate that the "authorities" were interested in the fact he decided to put it in a case. Yeah, why the hell would anyone want electronics in a case?
Now as to that larger picture...
As an American citizen, I can see how this incident demonstrates something very wrong in our society. Our, as Wedny put it, irrational fear is beyond ridiculous. In fact, I'd say that other than intellectual dishonesty, it's likely the single biggest issue facing us. It's been the driver behind post-9/11 America. It starts with a bit of intellectual dishonesty:
Deny the fact that 9/11 could have been prevented if two governmental agencies would have communicated with each other. Then let the irrational fear take over:
Spy on everybody, that will keep us safe!!! Get molested at the airport to ensure you're not carrying anything bad!!! You need to buy a product to keep you healthy (Obamacare)!!! Yes, I know, to the intellectually dishonest, that's racism! We need someone to make sure our kids eat right because their parents are to stupid to do that. More racism to the intellectually dishonest because that was Michelle's signature shit. As with the "Helecopter Parents" in Wendy's column, It's all variations of the same theme. We need protected from everything.
Now take a good look at Ahmed and ask yourself, do you think this bullshit leads anywhere good?