Irving’s ‘clock boy’ a victim of ‘incredible hate,’ lawsuit claims

[jpak]

Source: Star-Telegram

The Irving teen who was handcuffed and detained after bringing a homemade clock to school filed a discrimination lawsuit Monday against the City of Irving and the Irving school district, saying he was singled out because he was a Muslim.

The lawsuit claims that Ahmed Mohamed’s rights were violated by the Irving school district, Irving MacArthur High School Principal Daniel Cummings and Irving police when the youth was scrutinized for possibly having a fake bomb, not a homemade clock.

“This is the only real enforcement mechanism we have,” said Fort Worth attorney Susan Hutchison, who is representing the Mohamed family.

The case was filed in Dallas federal court by Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed “as next friend for Ahmed Mohamed.” The case was assigned to senior U.S. District Court Judge A. Joe Fish in the Northern District of Texas.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/dallas/article94378502.html#storylink=cpy

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/dallas/article94378502.html

[snooper2]

1. I guess that is why they hired a personal injury slip & fall attorney

clock boy scam continues


http://www.warriorsforjustice.com/

[LanternWaste]

4. Those insulting and threatening both him and his family are obviously in on it...

Those insulting and threatening both him and his family are obviously in on this mythical long scam of which you speak (I like to pretend my faith-based guesses are absolute as well...).

[Judi Lynn]

34. I never used to hear this young man called "clock boy" before, until now!

Apparently a lot of racists have been festering away, working up a powerful hatred for him, and some formerly respected "news" papers have joined them in an unholy hate fest to help their propaganda take root more easily.

This boy attracks people who hate black people and people who hate Islamic people and people who just love to hate, bless their hearts.

Saw this old article from the Washington Post, once respected until some time after Watergate, their big score. Starts off by calling this boy "Clock Kid," just like the finest Klansman, or a genius Breitbart writer, bless their hearts:

‘Clock kid’ Ahmed Mohamed and his family will move to Qatar




https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/clock-kid-ahmed-mohamed-and-his-family-will-move-to-qatar/2015/10/20/a95ed296-7762-11e5-b9c1-f03c48c96ac2_story.html

What they don't have the courage to admit here is that they also hate President Obama. They know that would absolutely tick off a lot of genuine Democrats.

[uhnope]

35. wait what?

[christx30]

71. Or maybe because 'Clock Boy' and 'Clock Kid' are good

shorthand so busy people can follow the story. I say 'Ahmed Mohamed' and people will say "Who?" and I have to explain who I'm talking about before I give them updates. I say "Clock Kid", and they say "What's going on with him now?"
I say 'Balloon Boy', and you know I'm talking about that family that claimed their kid was in a helium balloon, when they had hidden him in the attic.
Nicknames are helpful like that. It's not hateful. It's not racism. It's how humans think. It's why superheroes and supervillians in comic books have nicknames like 'Nightcrawler' and 'Cyclops', and they don't say Kurt Wagner or Scott Summers.
So you can know it's about him without having to remember names of everyone involved.

[ck4829]

60. Indeed. Something that seems to be kind of ignored in the discussion

If people are going to make a conspiracy theory out of this, then they should at least focus on Irving and others as a whole rather than just focusing on the family like a laser.

[Judi Lynn]

96. All that venom, rancor rushing forward have more to do with his color, and nationality.

I don't think they have much to do with Democratic or democratic values, or any values at all.

Very surprising any one of them would think it's a good move trying to inundate a progressive site with this non-democratic hostility. Everyone knows where democratic, progressive people stand. It only seems to point out who might not really be comfortable among democrats.

[ck4829]

10. Or maybe the police, lawyers, even the teachers are in on the scam.

Everybody but Bill Maher is in on it. Shhh, don't tell him.

[Akicita]

23. The President invited him to the White House because he took the cover off an alarm clock?

[The2ndWheel]

39. No, it's because he was a Muslim in Texas

Nothing would've happened to this kid had he not gone to school that day looking for a reaction. A normal, uneventful day. He had no reason to have his little project with him at school. There was no science fair. No teacher told him to do it for homework. The first teacher that saw it said don't show it because an untrained eye might see it as a bomb. Then it made a noise in the middle of some other class, and here we are.

It was an opportunity to show how open America can be. The system isn't intolerant of Muslims. The momentum of the story got this kid to the White House, but he didn't do anything to get there. It's not like he won 1st place in some White House sponsored science contest, with an unbelievable invention that could change the world.

[StrictlyRockers]

82. I don't think very many people have read a whole article and know much of the story

I tend to be a knee-jerk liberal. I sure don't know much about this story, except headlines.

Thanks for filling me in a bit. Seems pretty grey, not black and white. Dunno what to think atm.

[cstanleytech]

15. Maybe its a scam, maybe its not but imo what should happen is before the lawsuit can go any further

the judge should require the family and the schools both to put up the amount that the suit has been filed as bond an if the school loses the amount is paid from the bond if the parents lose then they lose that money to the school.

[MurrayDelph]

18. "EVEN Bill Maher"?

You mean the guy for whom the only thing he agrees with Trump on is rounding up all Muslims?

[Judi Lynn]

32. Hilarious, isn't it?

Can you imagine someone seeing Bill Maher as a "progressive?" Oh, my god.

[bananakabob]

46. Wait. Bill Maher said something ignorant, bigoted, and Islamophobic?

I'm shocked. SHOCKED I TELL YOU.

Bill Maher is an idiot.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

2. He says "Qatar is boring"

I bet that's not quite how his sisters would put it.

[TipTok]

27. +1

[renate]

3. what is the matter with people?

How can anybody with even the tiniest speck of humanity make death threats against a boy who didn't do anything wrong? That is INSANE.

[philosslayer]

5. Especially someone as brilliant and innovative as this young man

I hope he cleans them out.

[Democat]

6. Brilliant and innovative?

You hope he "cleans them out", you mean you hope he takes money from the school system so other kids get a worse education?

That doesn't sound like a liberal position.

[SheriffBob]

7. have to teach those red necks

about manners.

[Judi Lynn]

24. Someone has to help them awaken to reality. Just dropping the subject won't work.

There's no reason they shouldn't be check in their reign of hatred, racism, ignorance of the world of other people.

Rednecks have to realize they are accountable for their actions, and letting hatred rule their lives won't work.

It's time to wake up these idiots.

[ck4829]

8. They need that money to buy books that give a right wing spin on history and attempt to shovel said

books all across the nation.

I wonder where the people being sued stood on issues such as the 'slaves were just workers', I'm sure they had something to say, question is, what.

[Judi Lynn]

31. What they have to say makes more sense if you're drunk. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

26. Is that what he said? He hoped to degrade the school system?

Maybe you somehow jumped to an extreme conclusion to try to make the poster sound ridiculous.

It won't work around progressives, clearly, who understand what he said.

[procon]

83. Don't cry, they have liability insurance, and as a state agency they have access to more. nt

[FrodosPet]

21. I used to disassemble radios, clocks, etc as a kid

And I never got to the White House (except as a tourist).

[Judi Lynn]

30. Did your poor parents want you to take their stuff apart?

Why would the White House want to invite you there?

Were you deemed a natural genius among people like you?

[FrodosPet]

33. Once I got good enough to put stuff back together better they were OK with it

They weren't too happy about the learning process though! Thank goodness for Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs and Erector sets and Radio Shack kits.

As for the genius part, yes, people have been calling me that since childhood. Not sure whether to feel complimented, or sad about the fact that my intelligence is not considered only average.

As for why would the White House invite me: Because I am much nicer in person than online, and I have an interesting life story?

Nah, I didn't think so either!

[SheriffBob]

95. that sounds rude

imho

[Marengo]

45. In what way is he "brilliant and innovative"?

[Sand Rat Expat]

75. I have the same question and posted about it, too.

I have a sneaky suspicion that neither of us will receive an answer.

[Sand Rat Expat]

74. Nothing against the kid here, but...

He took a cover off a store-bought clock. I'm sorry, I'm sure he's a smart kid, but that's neither brilliant nor innovative. Even if he'd designed and built said clock himself, I wouldn't call that brilliant or innovative, either. Smart and clever, certainly, but let's not get carried away here. It's not as if he perfected cold fusion or discovered a way to travel faster than light.

[amuse bouche]

76. "brilliant and innovative "?

Did you forget the ?

It's ok. For the first few days, I fell for the scammer too.

[christx30]

11. Because he and his family are commiting

legalized extortion against a state education system that keeps having to close schools because it's broke.
The kid is a fraud. His dad set the whole thing up for a friggin pay day. It's the civil rights equalivant of getting someone to rearend your car.
Ina just world, the dad would end up with a 10 year fraud sentence and the rest of the family would end up homeless for participating.
The kid had one bad day. He wasn't even physically harmed. It's not worth 1/100 of what his family is demanding.

[ck4829]

14. Oh wow, this like blows the conspiracy wide open, so why stop at just his family?

These lawyers are involved, they're clearly part of the fraud now.

And maybe there was an inside man, someone there to make sure it all went down according to the father's clever machinations to get his son arrested, who could it have been? One of the teachers, a police officer, how far does this go?

[Akicita]

50. Obviously all the way to the White House.

[Judi Lynn]

29. Where have you learned all this machination material?

Does it seem like the logical explanation to you?

Do you think people will believe it?

Why would they?

A "just world" isn't run by violent racist hate-mongers.

[christx30]

48. Because it makes sense.

Last edited Tue Aug 9, 2016, 11:35 AM - Edit history (1)

There are two powerful forces at play. The desire to keep kids safe in their school, and people wanting to punish bigotry.
Dad puts his kid right at that intersection. He or his kid builds the clock, kid lets it go off in class, scares a teacher. At this point, it's how do you want someone to respond? She sees something that she thinks might threaten the safety of the kids her care. Should she blow it off? Should she, an untrained eye, examine the thing? "Well, I don't see any C4 in here, not that I know what C4 looks like, so it's probably ok." You'd want someone that knows what they're doing to look at it to determine if it's safe or not.
No, she calls the police. Do you want the cops to laugh it off? They do their jobs. They follow protocol. If they didn't, and something happened, you'd be up in arms.
If this lawsuit succeeds, what will be the lesson? "If you see something that might affect the lives of the kids in your care, for God's sake, keep your mouth shut, and just pray that you're wrong."
And this family gets rich off the backs of Texas taxpayers. Millions of dollars for one bad day. During which no one died. No one was injured. Not even a paper cut.
I don't see any hate here. I don't see racism here. I see a (at the very least) opportunistic guy, his stupid kid, and extortion. He set the kid up to get in trouble for bring a suspicious device to school, knowing what the result would be. The school did what they thought was the right thing, kid is questioned, "You're all racist haters!!!!11!", $15 million dollars go from the Irving school system into the hands of shysters.

[Akicita]

51. Excellent post christx30.

[Sand Rat Expat]

77. Nail on the head right there.

But the person to whom you're replying will refuse to believe it. Chalking it all up to race-driven malice confirms her biases, so that is precisely what she'll believe. She'd have a point if they'd injured or killed the kid, but as you rightly pointed out, nothing of the sort happened.

As others have pointed out, there was no reason for the kid to have brought the thing to school. There was no science fair, the item wasn't homework or a project or anything of the sort. Why on earth did he even have it then? It was his intention to cause a stir, because any fool should know better than to bring a weapon or anything that looks like a weapon into a school these days.

And you're also right in that if the teachers had done nothing, the very people loudly chastising the school district would be up in arms that they did nothing when confronted with what might have been a situation in which children could come to harm. Same if the officers had done nothing. There's no win condition for them in this scenario.

But it gives some people a chance to puff up with righteous indignation, so here we are.

[procon]

86. Hogwash.

If the cute, blond, blue eyed, Sally Smith brought her homemade clock to school, they would have given her a gold star and posted her picture on the bulletin board with a story about how smart and clever she was. Since it was the dark skinned, foreign, Muslim kid, its a terrorist bomb and he gets a personal introduction to discrimination, bigotry and hatred.

The lawsuit is just and necessary, not just to rectify the wrongs done to the boy for no other reason than his ethnic and religious differences, but to teach a lesson to the adults involved in making the whole series of reactionary, illegal decisions. So award boy and his family a sufficient amount to ease the humiliation of being forced to move, and the all the indignities and fears they suffered at the hand of officials. Then add a punitive award to make it clear to the authority figures involved that they did not just make a poor judgement call, but that they violated the law and this country does not condone their bigoted, hate fueled behavior.

Even though the government's liability insurance will cover the trial and whatever judgement is granted, those people involved should all be fired or at least demoted so they are no longer in positions where their poor judgement skills will cause more problems.

[Judi Lynn]

88. Thank you so much. So glad you've countered racism with fact. It matters so much. n/t

[christx30]

92. Bringing a gun to campus would be a federal crime.

So dally wouldn't get a gold star. The police would be called and she'd go to jail, and rightly so.
Idiot kid brings a suspecious device to school for no reason, makes it go off in class, they are going to call the police. What actions are illegal? I wasn't aware it was illegal to call the police.
The kid had at most, one bad day. Got questioned by the police because he brought a suspicious device into school.he did it because he was either an idiot, or more likely, part of the extortion plot that his dad was trying to hatch. Cause a ruckus, await fallout from the ruckus, make a wild claim about abuse and racism, collect your reward. Classic bully behavior. Taunt someone until they punch you in the nose, then claim victim status. The idiot kid has done this sort of thing before, and was told to stop. He wanted a reaction, and got one.
The family deserves nothing. Dad deserves jail time.

[procon]

94. Off the rails, yeah?

Innocent until proven... blah, blah, blah, right? Is your anger directed more at the child, or the father?

The rightwing spiel is very good though, and props on the twisty conspiracy theories. Entertaining as they might be, the 'lock him up' theme has an oddly familiar ring to it, and the charge would be what? Being a Muslim in America? Suing the state for redress? If a kid's toy clock rates as some sort of suspicious device, then shoes, backpacks and cell phones must be the cause of constant panic.

[smirkymonkey]

91. +1000

[Sand Rat Expat]

78. It absolutely does seem logical when one considers the motivations behind the actual event.

I believe it, because again, it makes sense when you look at the totality of the event.

Not seeing any racist hate-mongering here. If the kid had been a white-as-the-driven-snow Caucasian born-again Christian, the teacher would have responded the same way to what she thought might have been an explosive device, and the cops would have responded the same way in investigating it.

And if you don't believe that, then kindly explain to me why kids all over the country have been suspended, expelled, and/or arrested for having or making items that even look vaguely like weapons, or even pointing their finger as if it were a gun.

[Judi Lynn]

89. Right. Life is so hard for caucasians, isn't it? It just makes a racist so defeated at times.

No wonder they are so rancorous and hate-filled.

[Sand Rat Expat]

98. Your reply would be relevant if I'd said anything of the sort.

Alas for you, I didn't. Though I'll note that you responded the same way to another poster making a similar point. Perhaps you might consider setting aside your knee-jerk "He's defending racists!!1" conception of my post, and reread it to see the actual meaning.

Or you can let the snarky sarcasm stand as a lasting testament to a point you, sadly, totally missed.

[bananakabob]

47. Wow, a progressive site defending racist and bigoted Texas schools.

The same schools that favour creationism over evolution. Now I've seen everything.

[Akicita]

52. I see a progressive site defending teachers who were trying to protect and defend their pupils.

[bananakabob]

55. "Protect and defend".

BS. There was no harm at all - this was pure bigoted Islamophobia from the start. And the suit is against the school system, which is notoriously difficult to admit guilt or provide repercussions without one.

[Akicita]

62. And if it had been a bomb that killed several students would you say the teacher was justified if

her explanation was "It looked like it might have been a bomb but I was wasn't sure so I did not intervene because the fear of being branded an Islamophobe is much more important than the safety of my kids?

[christx30]

54. That’s the choice that a school has now:

Get sued by a student’s parents if the fake bomb is caught or face 800 wrongful death lawsuits if the bomb is passed over and explodes.

[bananakabob]

56. Sure.

But there's a difference between being cautious and detaining/subduing a kid and expelling him for doing nothing wrong, especially when anti-Muslim hate in America is at an all time high.

And the teacher didn't even feel threatened one bit.

[christx30]

59. You and I disagree that the kid

did nothing wrong. I think he was part of his scam artist dad's plan to get rich. Set up a bad situation, await the fallout, claim racism, get millions.
I think the school acted properly. I hope if this goes to court, the family gets buried.

[procon]

87. That's an astoundingly convoluted and crazy conspiracy theory you've concocted.

It's very similar in complexity to the wacky stories the Birthers made up to frame Obama as a Muslim. Seriously, if the man wanted to devise scam to get money, why go to such lengths and leave it to chance that the officials would react as they did and make so many errors that they could be held accountable for charges of bigotry, hate and discrimination? Seems like he'd have a better chance in buying a lottery ticket and gambling on the odds that everything would align in his favor for a lawsuit.

Your fairy tale is riddled with inconsistencies. Any good con man would have just staged his own incident as the victim of a hate crime, or engineered a slip and fall on the steps of city hall, and with none of the melodrama, uncertainty, or putting his own son at risk.

[Judi Lynn]

90. It's easy to see you've considered thinking about this. Do you actually believe anyone would agree?

There's absolutely nothing about your fantasy which makes any sense whatsoever. It's not reality-based.

Please put some thought into your projections about what you imagine people you've decided to hate are capable of doing, or that they would ever consider trying it. That would take such a high degree of simple nuttiness the person would probably have been locked up long before he could pull off some ridiculous, pointless scheme like this.

The father came here to trick everyone, using his son, to hit the jackpot, then sneak back to the Mideast.

How profoundly odd.

By the way, it's most likely they had enough money, to start with. Not everyone is insanely greedy.

[alarimer]

61. Yes, and defending the indefensible way he was treated.

It's disgusting.

[PersonNumber503602]

72. If I recall correctly, you may be correct. However, the way the school/police handled

the situation was out of line and far from acceptable. I admit I was disappointed when I learned he only disassembled a clock radio and put it in a case. As I spent much of the time defending the kid thinking he actually took some components and built a clock out of it (a common project), and then some backward teacher freaked out over it 'cause he was muslim. Now even though I question the motives of the boy and his family, I still can't justify the extreme reaction and stupidity of the school administration.

[Sand Rat Expat]

80. There's lots of that going around in school administrations everywhere in America.

This kid wasn't treated that way because he was Muslim. He was treated that way because he had an object that looked vaguely like a weapon. Kids all over the place have been suspended and expelled for having items that look vaguely like weapons, or even for pointing their fingers like guns. I very much doubt every single one of those kids was Muslim.

This is more "zero tolerance" nonsense in action. It's a one-size-fits-all approach to a problem with vastly different permutations, but administrations favor it because it takes zero chances and negates the element of thinking. In their view, that's the best way of protecting themselves from legal action (not protecting their students, mind you): treat anything that even slightly resembles a weapon as the real thing, no matter how absurd that is.

If this kid and his family deserve $15 million, then there are a lot of kids and families out there who deserve big payouts, and if this suit sets that precedent, school districts everywhere are going to get reamed.

[procon]

84. Good thing we have laws againest hate and liability insurance to cover the

stupid people who think discrimination is OK when they do it.

[oberliner]

20. Have you ever been on Twitter?

"Death threats" are pretty routine against anyone and everyone.

[FrodosPet]

22. Death threats DO suck!

Trust me, I know. I've been threatened by Fortunately, they almost never happen. They are meant to scare and upset.

If someone really wants to kill you, 98%-99% of the time you will have no idea when or where - they are not going to warn you.

[Judi Lynn]

28. That's why only a radical racist a-hole would do it.

I don't believe that has ever been a game progressives play, despite what radical racist a-holes would have us believe. Violence and hatred are the wallowing ground of hate-driven right-wingers. It's their natural home.

[MichMan]

16. Oh how the tides have turned at DU......

I remember when this first hit how there were dozens and dozens of posts here fawning over this "genius" and how bigoted the school district and the police were.

[Skittles]

17. that could be true and he could still be an asshole now

it's not like that scenario is completely impossible

[Judi Lynn]

25. You accuse progressives of "fawning over" little people of other races?

That's an accusation most progressives don't expect to see at a progressive message board.

You call him "genius" to mock him? Why?

[MichMan]

38. Because he didnt invent anything?

1) "Fawned" because like many issues here, people jump to pre conceived conclusions before the story even unfolds. The vast majority of them in this case proved not to be true. Had he listened to his teachers, the whole situation could have been avoided. 90+% of posters here bought his story hook , line and sinker when it first hit, now the vast majority see it as a "scam".


2) "Genius" in quotes; he did not invent a clock; he took an existing clock and put it inside a pencil box. Not sure why this warranted a publicity tour, trip to MIT and the White House IMO, but they can invite whoever they want, so whatever.


3) As the case went on it certainly appeared that his father had at worst, either orchestrated the whole thing, or at best was extremely opportunistic, thus the move to Qatar, 15 million dollar extortion and now this lawsuit.

[ck4829]

40. Those "teachers" in "Irving" are just another side of this scam

Something of this nature and scope requires an inside man, several in fact. I'm not sure if they're just rubes who fell for this scam.

Let's at least go hard in the paint here.

[oberliner]

43. It's pretty simple

He brought the thing to school, showed it to a teacher, the teacher told him to put it away. He didn't. Authorities overreacted, took him in for questioning and then let him go.

Then he blew up on social media. Invited to the White House. Invited to attend MIT. Eventually given a full scholarship for him and his siblings to attend private school in Qatar.

That ought to have been the end of the story.

But now, the family comes back to Texas for summer vacation, puts out a press release that he is ready for interviews, and then they announce that they are suing for fifteen million dollars.

[Akicita]

57. So if an inner city student has a toy gun he made himself that looks a lot like a real gun and he

decides to bring it to school and flash it around to other students, should teachers who are responsible for the protection of their pupils and have no idea if the gun is real just assume that the gun is not real? Or should they call the cops to handle the situation? Is the kid with the fake home made gun then entitled to be fêted at the White House for his workmanship and entitled to $15 million.

[christx30]

67. Or better yet.

If a kid brought this to school and just had the handle peeking out, would a teacher be justified in even questioning it? Would you want the teacher to ask the student to show her the gun?

[Akicita]

69. Depends. It depends on the race or ethnic background of the student. If he is a white Christian

Last edited Tue Aug 9, 2016, 04:37 PM - Edit history (14)

then obviously the teacher should intervene. Especially if his parents are skinhead militia Rump supporter types. If he is a minority or a Muslim, then of course it would be racist or Islamophobic for the teacher to intervene.

It also depends on the location of the school. If the event happens at a school located in a conservative area then obviously blatant racism or Islamophobia is to blame. If the same event happens in a school in a liberal area or at Columbine or Sandy Hook high schools then of course the teachers are justified in their actions to put student safety first.

You see, it just depends.

For the next exercise, let's compare what ultimately happened to the dastardly student who ate his sandwich into the shape of a gun vs. our hero student who brought what looked like may be a bomb to the untrained eye to school. Then we can make the same comparison with the notorious Hello Kitty bubble gun incident.

After making those comparisons you will have to agree. It just depends.

Does anyone doubt that if the student who ate his sandwich into the shape of a gun and was suspended for it were Muslim and lived in a conservative area and his father went public claiming Islamophobia and sued for millions of dollars that many on this thread would be in total agreement and would be calling for the heads of the school officials? Same with the Hello Kitty bubble gun incident.

Does anyone doubt that if a white Christian student whose parents were skinhead militia Rump supporters who lived in a progressive area brought to school something that looked like it may be a bomb to the untrained eye, it would be a near unanimous opinion on this site that the school authorities did the right thing by calling the police to ensure the safety of the students. And there's not s snowball's chance in Hell that the kid would be feted at the White House. Maybe, if disaster strikes and Rump became president.

So, you see, it all depends.

[Judi Lynn]

73. Why on earth would you attempt to portray white racists as persecuted? n/t

[Sand Rat Expat]

81. That... really wasn't the point of Akicita's post. At all. Like not even close. NT

[Akicita]

85. Huh?

[oberliner]

19. Scammer family

Especially the father.

[uhnope]

36. i respect your opinion so could you tell me why you think that's appropriate to say?

I haven't followed this too closely. To what extent is it a scam? Was it a scam from the beginning? Or did is the father taking advantage of what was a genuine miscarriage of justice? What evidence is there for that?
thank you in advance.

[oberliner]

42. Thanks

The lawsuit is a scam. There is no reason why this family should be given fifteen millions dollars from the city and school district. This was not done quietly. Immediately upon arriving back in Texas for summer vacation, the family contacted Fox News and other outlets to set up interviews.

?uuid=tE_CrFgkEeaXZ_bJR_0MuA

The family currently lives in Qatar, where Ahmed and his siblings attend an elite private school, tuition free.

Photo is from this Washington Post article:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-year-ago-ahmed-mohamed-became-clock-boy-now-he-cant-escape-that-moment/2016/08/02/2b8650be-484b-11e6-bdb9-701687974517_story.html

[uhnope]

44. I see. Poor kid. Daddy decided this was to be a goldmine. n/t

[6chars]

53. but he has glasses like Urkel

[ck4829]

37. Scammer town

Taking this to it's logical conclusion, it seems very unlikely this family acted alone if they are indeed a 'scammer family', and indeed many confidence tricks and scams require a 'shill' or inside man to give them an air of legitimacy.

The authorities in this so-called town of Irving have contradicted themselves several times, have 'lost' papers and records, and have not acted as though this was a 'scammer family'. Are they that woefully incompetent or is there something else going on here?

Let's at least go hard in the paint.

[oberliner]

41. Not a confidence trick

Just a frivolous lawsuit where they are trying to scam the district out of fifteen million dollars.

The Irving authorities did not handle the situation well at all.

[Mosby]

49. This is one of those cases where the plantiffs should win

And be awarded a dollar.

[Akicita]

63. It would be very politically incorrect for the authorities to act as though this was a scammer

family until they have absolute proof. They would just be digging a deeper hole.

Why in the world would you it very unlikely the family acted alone. The dad knew the school would have a protect the kids first attitude and would take no chances with something that may possibly look like a bomb to the untrained eye. Then it's just a matter of claiming racism and ginning up the publicity and voila the millions start rolling in. The feting at the White House must have been unexpected bonus.

[Capt. Obvious]

58. Wow. Some of the comments on this thread fit in with the many threads on this topic

at r/The_Donald.

[Akicita]

65. Makes sense. There are a few things both the RW and progressives agree on. Aversion to being scammed

is one of them.

[Capt. Obvious]

68. Both have their share of offensive assholes

That's what sticks out to me.

[Akicita]

70. Me too.

[Throd]

64. Fraudulent lawsuits are cool as long as they are against our favorite bogeymen from central casting.

They're scammers getting a pass from the underdogmatists.

[Akicita]

66. I think that if this event had occurred at the DNC or in the Sandy Hook school instead of in a

school in a conservative state, many of the family's defenders here would be singing a different tune.

[immoderate]

79. These people are hucksters. They got lucky. Now they're doubling down.

--imm

[Nye Bevan]

93. I fell for the "blatant Islamophobia" narrative at first.

But now I see through the obvious scam.

[Judi Lynn]

97. Do you perceive all people like them as criminals? Obvious scammers?

The family itself has never been involved with the criminal world.

It doesn't take much to agitate people waiting for a racist opportunity to slur, vilify, even lie knowingly.

[Nye Bevan]

99. "all people like them"? Their scheme was quite unique and ingenious. (nt)