Making while brown: Texas schoolchild arrested for bringing homemade clock to school

boing
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Since when has the legality of something stopped cops?

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I’m the chairman of the electronics/robotics committee of the Dallas Makerspace. We are looking to get this fine young man a family membership so he has a place to show off his electronics skills to an appreciative audience. If you would like to support this goal, please consider making a donation to the Maker Fellowship Fund - http://dallasmakerspace.org/maker-fellowship-fund/

Please place a note in the PayPal paymnet that it is for Ahmed’s membership

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##FTFY

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Why should they?! The Bible covers all!

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Hey @doctorow how about updating the article to include this link for @Lampy’s makerspace donation page?

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a witch.jpg800×441 39.3 KB

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You are right. He definitely has to watch his back from now on. Texas can be brutal. But there are ways to keep it on the up-and-up.

That engineering teacher must have some issue or something. I have a sneaking feeling there is more to the story that we weren’t told in the articles.

In any event, the kid vowed never to bring future inventions to school. That implies something huge: he is defiant in a good, sciency way and is going to keep inventing. So, there’s that. As long as he doesn’t turn to a life of crime, I’m sure this kid is going to go far with his fine mind.

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But, but, but, you’re posting on the Internet about it?!?!?!?! Surely you know the NSA is watching and then pressing the “brown person just ordered glassware in Texas” button on their National Control Console.

Gulp. You had better hide the bong real fast and maybe go stay at grandma’s for a few days.

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Super awesome, Lampy. You’re a good person.

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Maybe he was about to shoot someone?

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Be fair. Most Texans don’t even know what a calendar looks like, much less a clock.

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Upon further reflection, I’m guessing the engineering teacher fears/feared being fired, based on the principal’s follow-up letter. And the fact that he told the kid to keep it in his bag, as well, implies that he knew what kind of shit storm would be brought down on him if anybody found out about it. Which is super sad.

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Exactly. All it took the Boston police department to identify the LED signs as bombs was an “identifiable power source, a circuit board with exposed wiring, and electrical tape.” Apparently even the experts believe you don’t need explosives to make a bomb. (never mind that even if the LED signs were bombs, the way they were placed would have caused no damage)

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So low on the ground? Without looking at the target? :stuck_out_tongue:
Maybe a rat?

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The photo of this kid in handcuffs is heartbreaking.
Texas! shakes fists

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The story I read had that it was his English teacher who reported him when the clock’s alarm went off in his class.

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[quote=police spokesman]
The concern was, what was this thing built for?[/quote]

Better headline: “POLICE SPOKESMAN DOESN’T KNOW WHAT CLOCKS ARE FOR, SOMEHOW STILL ABLE TO CARE FOR HIMSELF ENOUGH TO STAY ALIVE”

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not a bad headline, but I think this round for the Most Awesome Headline goes to Bruce Schneier: Child Arrested Because Adults Are Stupid

btw, the Dallas News article was updated and the police chief claims the device was intended as hoax bomb. The story is getting complicated…

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Nice catch!