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Sorry, that seems opportunistic. I felt bad for him, but no way he was scarred to the tune of $15 million. Even the bad experience had a major upside - he was o

Sorry, that seems opportunistic. I felt bad for him, but no way he was scarred to the tune of $15 million. Even the bad experience had a major upside - he was offered an internship to Twitter and an invitation to the White House. Schools are budget-deprived enough without adding frivolous lawsuits to the mix. In this case everyone involved in suspending him should have been seriously reprimanded and an apology given (and I'm surprised one wasn't). But a $15 million lawsuit isn't the answer.

jonlucc 11y ago
I think this is how you get schools to care and avoid doing the same in the future.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punitive_damages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punitive_damages > Punitive damages or exemplary damages are damages intended to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. Although the purpose of punitive damages is not to compensate the plaintiff, the plaintiff will receive all or some portion of the punitive damage award.
- jaxomlotus 11y ago
  Should schools really not take security seriously though? Do we really want people second guessing themselves when it comes to safety? That precedent is asking for trouble.
  - dllthomas 11y ago
    How does safety enter into it? Everyone knew it wasn't a bomb. Some people thought it was pretending to be a bomb, other people contend that it wasn't pretending to be a bomb. How are you worried about people second guessing themselves, in that context? Schools have procedures for when there's a suspected bomb. They don't look like what was done, here. There was never a suspected bomb - only a suspected hoax.
    - ltorresv 11y ago
      Everyone knew it wasn't a bomb? Really? AFAIK he was asked what it was and he was uncooperative although we won't ever know since his family refused the public release of the police records. Anyways, if we're going with hearsay then we should mention the boy's sister was suspended for making a bomb threat so I'd doubt the average teacher would just brush this off as "definitely not a bomb". Now, seems like in your mind it would've been better for the school to send a SWAT team after him. I'm sure that wouldn't be seen as a negative thing by anyone.
      - dllthomas 11y ago
        Better? No. More consistent with "we thought it was a bomb"? Yes. At which point, the discussion of what should be done when you think there's a bomb becomes germane. So far as I understand it, no one involved is claiming that they thought it was a bomb. Far more conspicuous than relative lack of force (which, depending on particulars, might possibly have been a fine reaction to an actual bomb) is the apparent lack of any move to evacuate other students.
- shubhamjain 11y ago
  Is there anything seriously wrong in how school reacted? Quoting New York Times, > He said he took it to school on Monday to show an engineering teacher, who said it was nice but then told him he should not show the invention to other teachers. Later, Ahmed’s clock beeped during an English class, and after he revealed the device to the teacher, school officials notified the police, and Ahmed was interrogated by officers. > Ahmed wasn’t accused of making a bomb – he was accused of making a look-alike, a hoax. And be honest with yourself, a big red digital display with a bunch of loose wires in a brief-case looking box is awful like a Hollywood-style representation of a bomb. [1] [1]: http://blogs.artvoice.com/techvoice/2015/09/17/reverse-engineering-ahmed-mohameds-clock-and-ourselves/ http://blogs.artvoice.com/techvoice/2015/09/17/reverse-engin...
- unprepare 11y ago
  I think this is how you create poor educational outcomes for the students in an entire district. Losing 15 million dollars is not a loss most school districts will be able to withstand - that would likely mean the closing of schools, consolidation, larger class sizes, teacher pay decreases, etc. But yeah, costing a community of people 15 million dollars sure will teach the four or five people actually involved a valuable lesson.
serge2k 11y ago
> Schools are budget-deprived enough without adding frivolous lawsuits to the mix. I'm sorry, in what way is this frivolous?
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- fleitz 11y ago
  In that getting called into the office for your homemade 'clock' is not a big deal, and certainly not a $15m big deal.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - smileysteve 11y ago
    If by 'called into the office' you mean handcuffed, told that you are being expelled, and catching the news cycle. Not to mention being the topic of a national debate with some pointing out your race and guessing as to whether or not you are a terrorist.
    - fleitz 11y ago
      He's not the only kid to get in trouble with the police at school. I dunno man, I'm from Canada, and this is like $100K tops, obviously we don't have the same legal climate as the US but $15m seems a little steep, I do realize it's the opening offer.
- unprepare 11y ago
  In that it removes 5 million dollars from a school district's budget. A school district that serves thousands of children, primarily minorities. I am shocked that there is anyone saying that those children deserve poorer educational outcomes because of this incident.
swang 11y ago
I am really confused by the negative reactions because it seems like Ahmed's family is following the American Way by suing for $15 million. But seriously, isn't this how it always has been with incidents like this? If they want to sue they don't want to sue for $2 million because the school will probably tryo to settle for ~$500K. If you set it at $15 million, it anchors the price point higher and they may get $3 million to make it go away.
- Ollinson 11y ago
  I think Ahmed and his family forfeit their right to the "American way" when they decided to move to Qatar after receiving an outpouring of support from the American public (including meeting Obama).
  - DrScump 11y ago
    A cynic would say it's a case of the carnival folding up the tents and leaving town before the locals figure out that the midway games were fixed.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  Just because it's a stereotypical "American Way", doesn't mean it's right. The negative reactions may come from the fact that rent-seeking is harmful to society. Moreover, this particular case is an abuse of public goodwill, and many of the commenters expressing negative sentiments probably fell for the hoax and were supporting this kid publicly.
  - swang 11y ago
    The "American Way" part was a joke. But it wasn't a hoax dude. It actually happened. He got arrested for pretty much _no_ reason whatsoever. There are two separate events 1. Ahmed was arrested for a pretty dumb thing and most likely because he was a brown kid it made it easier for them to assume it was a bomb or hoax bomb. Whatever they want to call it. I'd have to see how often "hoax bombs" were actually used to arrest someone before I say they racially profiled him for sure, but my gut feeling is that there isn't a high incidence of hoax bomb arrests. 2. Ahmed's family is suing for $15 million. Not Ahmed, who probably has little choice in the matter. I am sure suing for so much money has brought bad publicity for them, but at the same time that issue is separate from the incident of him being arrested, which happened. Using the term rent-seeking is a bit over the top unless you really believe this entire thing was staged.

jonlucc 11y ago

I think this is how you get schools to care and avoid doing the same in the future.

toomuchtodo 11y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punitive_damages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punitive_damages > Punitive damages or exemplary damages are damages intended to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. Although the purpose of punitive damages is not to compensate the plaintiff, the plaintiff will receive all or some portion of the punitive damage award.
jaxomlotus 11y ago
Should schools really not take security seriously though? Do we really want people second guessing themselves when it comes to safety? That precedent is asking for trouble.
- dllthomas 11y ago
  How does safety enter into it? Everyone knew it wasn't a bomb. Some people thought it was pretending to be a bomb, other people contend that it wasn't pretending to be a bomb. How are you worried about people second guessing themselves, in that context? Schools have procedures for when there's a suspected bomb. They don't look like what was done, here. There was never a suspected bomb - only a suspected hoax.
  - ltorresv 11y ago
    Everyone knew it wasn't a bomb? Really? AFAIK he was asked what it was and he was uncooperative although we won't ever know since his family refused the public release of the police records. Anyways, if we're going with hearsay then we should mention the boy's sister was suspended for making a bomb threat so I'd doubt the average teacher would just brush this off as "definitely not a bomb". Now, seems like in your mind it would've been better for the school to send a SWAT team after him. I'm sure that wouldn't be seen as a negative thing by anyone.
    - dllthomas 11y ago
      Better? No. More consistent with "we thought it was a bomb"? Yes. At which point, the discussion of what should be done when you think there's a bomb becomes germane. So far as I understand it, no one involved is claiming that they thought it was a bomb. Far more conspicuous than relative lack of force (which, depending on particulars, might possibly have been a fine reaction to an actual bomb) is the apparent lack of any move to evacuate other students.
shubhamjain 11y ago
Is there anything seriously wrong in how school reacted? Quoting New York Times, > He said he took it to school on Monday to show an engineering teacher, who said it was nice but then told him he should not show the invention to other teachers. Later, Ahmed’s clock beeped during an English class, and after he revealed the device to the teacher, school officials notified the police, and Ahmed was interrogated by officers. > Ahmed wasn’t accused of making a bomb – he was accused of making a look-alike, a hoax. And be honest with yourself, a big red digital display with a bunch of loose wires in a brief-case looking box is awful like a Hollywood-style representation of a bomb. [1] [1]: http://blogs.artvoice.com/techvoice/2015/09/17/reverse-engineering-ahmed-mohameds-clock-and-ourselves/ http://blogs.artvoice.com/techvoice/2015/09/17/reverse-engin...
unprepare 11y ago
I think this is how you create poor educational outcomes for the students in an entire district. Losing 15 million dollars is not a loss most school districts will be able to withstand - that would likely mean the closing of schools, consolidation, larger class sizes, teacher pay decreases, etc. But yeah, costing a community of people 15 million dollars sure will teach the four or five people actually involved a valuable lesson.

serge2k 11y ago

> Schools are budget-deprived enough without adding frivolous lawsuits to the mix. I'm sorry, in what way is this frivolous?

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
fleitz 11y ago
In that getting called into the office for your homemade 'clock' is not a big deal, and certainly not a $15m big deal.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- smileysteve 11y ago
  If by 'called into the office' you mean handcuffed, told that you are being expelled, and catching the news cycle. Not to mention being the topic of a national debate with some pointing out your race and guessing as to whether or not you are a terrorist.
  - fleitz 11y ago
    He's not the only kid to get in trouble with the police at school. I dunno man, I'm from Canada, and this is like $100K tops, obviously we don't have the same legal climate as the US but $15m seems a little steep, I do realize it's the opening offer.
unprepare 11y ago
In that it removes 5 million dollars from a school district's budget. A school district that serves thousands of children, primarily minorities. I am shocked that there is anyone saying that those children deserve poorer educational outcomes because of this incident.

swang 11y ago

I am really confused by the negative reactions because it seems like Ahmed's family is following the American Way by suing for $15 million. But seriously, isn't this how it always has been with incidents like this? If they want to sue they don't want to sue for $2 million because the school will probably tryo to settle for ~$500K. If you set it at $15 million, it anchors the price point higher and they may get $3 million to make it go away.

Ollinson 11y ago
I think Ahmed and his family forfeit their right to the "American way" when they decided to move to Qatar after receiving an outpouring of support from the American public (including meeting Obama).
- DrScump 11y ago
  A cynic would say it's a case of the carnival folding up the tents and leaving town before the locals figure out that the midway games were fixed.
TeMPOraL 11y ago
Just because it's a stereotypical "American Way", doesn't mean it's right. The negative reactions may come from the fact that rent-seeking is harmful to society. Moreover, this particular case is an abuse of public goodwill, and many of the commenters expressing negative sentiments probably fell for the hoax and were supporting this kid publicly.
- swang 11y ago
  The "American Way" part was a joke. But it wasn't a hoax dude. It actually happened. He got arrested for pretty much _no_ reason whatsoever. There are two separate events 1. Ahmed was arrested for a pretty dumb thing and most likely because he was a brown kid it made it easier for them to assume it was a bomb or hoax bomb. Whatever they want to call it. I'd have to see how often "hoax bombs" were actually used to arrest someone before I say they racially profiled him for sure, but my gut feeling is that there isn't a high incidence of hoax bomb arrests. 2. Ahmed's family is suing for $15 million. Not Ahmed, who probably has little choice in the matter. I am sure suing for so much money has brought bad publicity for them, but at the same time that issue is separate from the incident of him being arrested, which happened. Using the term rent-seeking is a bit over the top unless you really believe this entire thing was staged.