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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'

by 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.
  - DrScump 11y ago
    "But it wasn't a hoax dude. It actually happened. He got arrested for pretty much _no_ reason whatsoever." The whole "homemade clock" claim is what was a hoax, regardless of any subsequent panic about its application. (If you aren't clear on the backstory, look it up. It's just a mass-production A/C-powered clock taken out of its case. For example, see: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MICRONTA-Large-Red-Display-Digital-Alarm-Clock-w-Battery-Backup-63-765A-VINTAGE-/291565559523?orig_cvip=true http://www.ebay.com/itm/MICRONTA-Large-Red-Display-Digital-A...) Regarding the reaction: hindsight is a handy thing, but we live in an era where schools routinely go into complete lockdown if some kid or staffer thinks he might have spotted a weapon. When you read the article carefully, some things pop out: 1) BBC makes no mention here of the whole "homebuilt" concept itself being a hoax, e.g. a "homemade" clock (why the suitcase?) that was really just a disassembled, mass-production A/C-powered clock). 2) Lawyer letter stating, "Irving Police officials immediately determined that the clock was harmless" is false. Beat cops aren't qualified to make any such analysis; even things as innocuous as an unattended backpack get further analysis by specifically trained personnel. 3) "Ahmed's father ... once stood as a presidential candidate against (Sudanese President) Bashir." That's a pretty strong theoretical motive for a publicity stunt. In any case, they leveraged the fauxtrage into a full scholarship to The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community... so, mission accomplished. Another article, however, claims the following: "(Teacher) did escort Ahmed to the office, where the letter alleges that five police officers, the principal and the assistant principal performed an "interrogation." During that time, he was allegedly not permitted to contact his parents and was forced to sign a letter of confession under the threat of expulsion." Now, if that is true, that warrants investigation and corrective action on its own, completely unrelated to religion, national origin, or who "made" the item, or why. Meanwhile, this article says that his older sister claims to have been suspended 5-6 years earlier over alleged threats to blow up her school: 'The sister claimed after the arrest that she had been suspended from a school for several days. “I got suspended from school for three days from this stupid same district, from this girl saying I wanted to blow up the school, something I had nothing to do with,” she said, without providing evidence or proof. The episode occurred around 2009, she said. The scare happened in “my first year of attempting middle school in America. I knew English, but the culture was different, the people were different,” Eyman said. “I got suspended and I didn’t do anything about it,” she said.' http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/09/23/ahmeds-sister-admits-school-suspension-alleged-bomb-threat-3-years-earlier/ http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/09/23/ahmeds-si... If true, that's an interesting pattern.
DrScump 11y ago
Public agencies face a different process. One can't just sue such an agency for damages directly; one makes a financial claim against the agency instead. Then, if the claim is denied and not settled, then one can sue.

by swang 11y ago

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.
- DrScump 11y ago
  "But it wasn't a hoax dude. It actually happened. He got arrested for pretty much _no_ reason whatsoever." The whole "homemade clock" claim is what was a hoax, regardless of any subsequent panic about its application. (If you aren't clear on the backstory, look it up. It's just a mass-production A/C-powered clock taken out of its case. For example, see: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MICRONTA-Large-Red-Display-Digital-Alarm-Clock-w-Battery-Backup-63-765A-VINTAGE-/291565559523?orig_cvip=true http://www.ebay.com/itm/MICRONTA-Large-Red-Display-Digital-A...) Regarding the reaction: hindsight is a handy thing, but we live in an era where schools routinely go into complete lockdown if some kid or staffer thinks he might have spotted a weapon. When you read the article carefully, some things pop out: 1) BBC makes no mention here of the whole "homebuilt" concept itself being a hoax, e.g. a "homemade" clock (why the suitcase?) that was really just a disassembled, mass-production A/C-powered clock). 2) Lawyer letter stating, "Irving Police officials immediately determined that the clock was harmless" is false. Beat cops aren't qualified to make any such analysis; even things as innocuous as an unattended backpack get further analysis by specifically trained personnel. 3) "Ahmed's father ... once stood as a presidential candidate against (Sudanese President) Bashir." That's a pretty strong theoretical motive for a publicity stunt. In any case, they leveraged the fauxtrage into a full scholarship to The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community... so, mission accomplished. Another article, however, claims the following: "(Teacher) did escort Ahmed to the office, where the letter alleges that five police officers, the principal and the assistant principal performed an "interrogation." During that time, he was allegedly not permitted to contact his parents and was forced to sign a letter of confession under the threat of expulsion." Now, if that is true, that warrants investigation and corrective action on its own, completely unrelated to religion, national origin, or who "made" the item, or why. Meanwhile, this article says that his older sister claims to have been suspended 5-6 years earlier over alleged threats to blow up her school: 'The sister claimed after the arrest that she had been suspended from a school for several days. “I got suspended from school for three days from this stupid same district, from this girl saying I wanted to blow up the school, something I had nothing to do with,” she said, without providing evidence or proof. The episode occurred around 2009, she said. The scare happened in “my first year of attempting middle school in America. I knew English, but the culture was different, the people were different,” Eyman said. “I got suspended and I didn’t do anything about it,” she said.' http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/09/23/ahmeds-sister-admits-school-suspension-alleged-bomb-threat-3-years-earlier/ http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/09/23/ahmeds-si... If true, that's an interesting pattern.

DrScump 11y ago

Public agencies face a different process. One can't just sue such an agency for damages directly; one makes a financial claim against the agency instead. Then, if the claim is denied and not settled, then one can sue.