EnlightenedMessiah

The picture I've attached at the bottom of this post depicts the clock in question.

I want everyone in this thread to stop for a moment. Put yourself in the teacher's shoes. You work at a large school during an age in which public schools have become the target for various incidences of mass violence. You teach English, and thus probably don't have a real acumen for electronics. One day, at the end of class, one of your students comes up to your desk and places this on it.

What is your first thought?

I can tell you what mine would be: "bomb," pure and simple. I would see in front of me a metal suitcase filled with various wires, electrical components and a digital display that's obviously used to keep track of time in some manner. The student's race would never enter my mind. Frankly, nothing about the student would enter my mind at all. Why? Because my mind would be singularly focused on the device in front of me that looks exactly like every portrayal of a compact, portable explosive device I've ever seen on TV or in the movies, and what I would need to do to eliminate what I perceived as a threat. Regardless of all the rhetoric used in this forum, I find it incredibly hard to believe that any one of you would have a different reaction. That's not racism, it's not prejudice, and it's not malice towards anyone. That is man's most basic instinct, self preservation, taking over.

I've seen a whole lot of people on social media work really hard to try and distinguish this image from that of an actual suitcase bomb. Their entire argument hinges on a single idea: that there aren't any explosive components visible inside the suitcase... as though the average American, who has little experience with electronic components such as those pictured below and none with explosives, would be able to discern that at a glance. Frankly, I find it very hard to believe that the people who raise this argument, who often don't even know enough about weapons to distinguish between a magazine and a clip, would be able to deduce such a discovery for themselves were they put in the teacher's position. I think it's far more likely that they're simply buying into a popular argument on social media to feed their narcissistic need to feel better than everyone else by highlighting inventing an example of racism committed by an average American that they can point at and ridicule. In any case, the argument they present is crap. The fact that something that looks like a bomb doesn't have "C4" written anywhere on it doesn't mean it doesn't look like a bomb.

Now that we've put the teacher's actions in some context, let's discuss the police officer. Put yourself in his shoes. You've been dispatched to a local high school over a possible bomb threat. You've likely experienced fake bomb threats at local high schools before; unfortunately, they've become fairly frequent at many schools. You arrive at the school, go into the office, and find both the student and the suspicious device. You're likely a little better versed in matters relating to explosive devices than the average citizen simply because of experience and training. You examine the device, and are likely able to determine that it's not a bomb, although you instantly recognize the visual similarities and how it can be perceived as one. You're given the story of what happened - that a student came up and put this on the desk of an English teacher and that she perceived it as a threat - by school administrators or perhaps the teacher herself. You speak with the student, asking him questions about the device. All he'll say in response is that it's a clock, nothing more.

What are you thinking now?

Admittedly, this is a little harder to determine. We weren't there. We don't know the context in which this information was conveyed to the police officer by school officials, or the manner in which the student responded to the officer, only what he said. So much of good police work depends on the officer's ability to read the facial expressions and interpret the tone of the person he's questioning - we weren't there to witness any of those things. What we do know, though, is that the police officer felt it necessary to take the student into custody on charges of a "hoax bomb" - the crime of creating a device that looks like a bomb with the intention of intimidating someone - while his department looked more deeply into the matter, and that nobody else close to the situation felt this was out of line except, shockingly, the student taken into custody and his family. We also know that once the department had received enough information to conclusively determine that there was no intention to harm or intimidate anyone with the device, it released the student. Given the facts as they've been outlined here, I fail to see anything that suggests the arrest was out of line.

It truly amazes me how the same side of the aisle that constantly calls for increased salary and benefits for teachers, police officers and other public officials is so quick to excoriate them for making a mistake doing their job, and then use their actions to incite controversy for political gain. 

You mean the establishment because the voters are looking hard at Trump or Carson?

Are they wrong?  Do we not need a strong defense?

Dr Carson:  Black Lives Matter crowd should focus on their own neighborhoods, not cops...  OUCH!  This ought to explode the heads of the touchy-feely crowd!

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A lot of people want welfare to be cut until it is their welfare being cut. 

How about Bernie runs as libertarian, Hilary as Socialist/democrat, Trump as independent and Carson as Republican?

I'm in favor of multiple parties. Straight ticket voting shouldn't be an option.

Unfortunately I have:  Dole, McCain and Romney.  And you see where that got me.  A moderate couldn't even beat the worst President in history!  But, no -- I would not vote for a moderate in a primary.  As I've stated before, go to any library and show me all the books on "great moderates in history!"

How old are the posters in here these days?  I swear,  they sound like 1st graders.

And what  even more interesting is that a lot of people believe the government can change all of that.

And don't leave out the Huffington Post. 

@HuffingtonPost: Republicans like Obama's ideas better when they think they're Donald Trump's

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Bunch of dumb arse Americans

oh crap, you gonna be condemned for that post on this site. 

They been running from saber tooth tigers for a few million years?

Then maybe we should enact affirmative action in college and pro athletics to even the playing field the way it is done in jobs and educational institutions!

Since the bulk of  ones athleticism is developed over time, I would venture to guess that whichever culture places a premium on athleticism is likely to be the one that is more athletic.  Same would be true of education.

All races are created equal, but all races also come with their own cultures that lead to the races becoming unequal in various ways.

Sure is funny how the media will not tell the race of a suspect when a black kills a white.  But they are sure quick to jump on it when it is the other way around.  Prolly know there will be no Ferguson when a black commits the crime.  Wonder if BD3 thinks this is a hate crime.  Looks like Farrakhan is getting his message out.