Ken Berwitz
On Wednesday, I wrote a blog titled “A CONSEQUENCE OF PROBABILITY”, in which I commented that the handcuffing and detaining of 14 year old Ahmed Mohamed in Irving, Texas, for bringing a clock he had made to school which school officials were worried might be a bomb, was unfair, unreasonable….and understandable, given the fact that most terrorism in this day and age is performed by radical Islamists, the officials adopted a “better safe than sorry” course of action.
I also pointed out that I know and have worked with Muslim people for many years – good people who have nothing at all to do with terrorism – and do not make the assumption many do, that a Muslim name equals a terrorist threat.
However, the Associated Press has given us a picture of the “clock” young Ahmed brought into school. I thought you might want to see it:
Suppose a Black teenager goes into a convenience store with his friend to get a cold drink. There is a high likelihood he will be scrutinized by the owner – no matter what the owner\’s race – from the time he opens the door of that store to the time he leaves. Why? Because young Black males are dramatically more likely to commit crimes, including theft and assorted violent crimes, than the general population. This particular young man may have nothing to do with any of that, but the store owner doesn\’t know his frame of mind and is understandably concerned….so he is being subjected to a consequence of probability.
Similarly, if a Muslim teenager brings a device into school that has a clock on it, so it looks like it might be a bomb with a timer, the fact that most terrorist acts are committed by Muslims makes it neither reasonable nor fair that he winds up being hauled away in handcuffs. As with the Black teenager, he is being victimized by a consequence of probability.
I acknowledge that there is a difference: in the second example, we\’re not talking about the risk that a can of Coke might be stolen. We\’re talking about life and death. If school officials feel students and teachers are potentially in mortal danger, it is understandable that they might put all other concerns on the back burner.
Forget names. Forget Muslim or non-Muslim. If a 14 year old kid with any name brought this into school should officials be worried about it?
/AP
Does that look like a clock to you?
As noted above, I titled the initial blog A Consequence of Probability. But, it seems to me, that device raises the ante to “More Than Probability”. And maybe the school offficials\’ actions were even more understandable than I thought.
