Ticking Time Bomb
Engineering class. A class where you learn to build and develop strengths in physics to construct elaborate things. It wasn't, when one day when, MacArthur High School freshman, Ahmed Mohamed, walked into school after making a clock for his engineering class. According to Fox News, he was trying to impress his teacher adding extra credit to the regular assignment by making this clock, but the school administrators did not think so.
Ahmed did not know this extra assignment was going to get him arrested for allegedly making a bomb--and get him all over national news. He loved to construct stuff, and some people would never assume that since they simply judged him on his name alone. The origin of his name is Middle Eastern and is stereotypically Muslim, named for the prophet Mohammed. What if he had an American last name, like Smith? Would he still be arrested and sent to jail for making a bomb? It's a heated argument that's been going on ever since. This is why this story has been prevalent all over the world.
Now this young man’s story is being broadcasted all over the world because people realize that he was mistreated. If only the school administrators would have gotten over stereotypes and handled this as regular procedure, this would be a non-story. One more anecdote to the story: there was no clearing out the school when he was “caught” with the clock, and everyone else went on with a normal day. That's a little bit strange, isn't it? Something doesn't add up. Now, Ahmed is getting a free trip to the White House to meet President Obama. President Obama applauded Ahmed’s dedication to build and do what he likes, but it seemed kind of obligatory. Would the American with the last name of Smith get the same kind of treatment?
Photo by Reuters
