Bjorn Posted September 15, 2015 I think the article addresses that though. As much as generalizing from anecdotes is a deplorably common trend in discussions of modern culture, I don't think the article was trying to say "This is happening everywhere, look at this example!" It seemed to be responding largely to the paper (inherently accepting the paper's premise that a culture of victimhood is on the rise), then simply using the Oberlin incident as something specific to walk through and discuss. I don't really give it credit for acknowledging that though, I guess? The front half of that article is heavily, heavily loaded by being framed around an anecdote that looks to be at the pretty far extreme of what people talk about when they use the term microaggression. Any hedging or acknowledgement after that comes after the stage has been set, and is in many ways too late. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
clyde Posted September 16, 2015 Here's a short documentary that tries to provide tips on how to reduce the chances of being the victim of sexual assault in prison. I'm glad I watched it. The main piece of advice is don't accept gifts or favors. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
namman siggins Posted September 16, 2015 HEY GUYS, THIS KID MAKING A FUCKING BOMB! YEAH http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/us/texas-student-is-under-police-investigation-for-building-a-clock.html Fuck this world hard. This made me laugh a bit because of how true it is, sadly. http://boingboing.net/2015/09/16/arab-looking-man-of-syrian-des.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted September 16, 2015 Obama's tweet was amazing though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
namman siggins Posted September 16, 2015 Fuck that luke warm response. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tberton Posted September 17, 2015 Ta-Nehisi Coates has a huge and fantastic article about the mass incarceration of black people in America. There's a follow-up interview on Vox too. Well worth reading. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
namman siggins Posted September 17, 2015 Coates still killing it.5 love him to death Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben X Posted September 17, 2015 HEY GUYS, THIS KID MAKING A FUCKING BOMB! YEAH http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/us/texas-student-is-under-police-investigation-for-building-a-clock.html Fuck this world hard. The kid made a clock out of wires and circuit boards and put it in a big metal case so it looked exactly like a movie bomb that then started beeping in class. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Claire Hosking Posted September 17, 2015 The kid made a clock out of wires and circuit boards and put it in a big metal case so it looked exactly like a movie bomb that then started beeping in class. I'm not sure how I would transport something I made out of delicate circuitry, but a suitcase seems like a logical candidate. It doesn't look exactly like a movie bomb. It looks kinda like a movie bomb: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qgtFatLrK5A/VGsL-4J7oZI/AAAAAAAAG68/aMv9Z6iR75c/s1600/15131061630_2d59bef1f0_k.jpg but it also looks like an original apple computer: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lppoXnpNqz0/maxresdefault.jpg I tend to think if this kid had been less brown the teacher would have been more likely to associate it with the computer than the bomb. Also, if they did associate it with the bomb, a ton less likely to worry it was a real one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brett E Posted September 17, 2015 I find it hard to believe that if the kid was white and had different name that there would be the same result. Also I think it's a damn shame that society has become so consumerist that objects which aren't wrapped in a nice neat shell are treated with suspicion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tberton Posted September 17, 2015 The kid made a clock out of wires and circuit boards and put it in a big metal case so it looked exactly like a movie bomb that then started beeping in class. Except 1) the officer who interrogated him explicitly profiled him ("that's who I thought it was"), 2) said it looked like a "movie bomb" not an actual bomb and 3) didn't even evacuate the school or call the bomb squad, so clearly wasn't that afraid of it being a bomb in the first place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thefncrow Posted September 17, 2015 I don't know that I'd classify a pencil box as a "big metal case" or a "suitcase". For a sense of scale, use the electrical plug that's in shot. This is a marketing photo of the case, giving you a better sense of what size that is: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dewar Posted September 17, 2015 Except 1) the officer who interrogated him explicitly profiled him ("that's who I thought it was"), 2) said it looked like a "movie bomb" not an actual bomb and 3) didn't even evacuate the school or call the bomb squad, so clearly wasn't that afraid of it being a bomb in the first place. The argument wasn't that they thought it was a bomb, it's that they thought he made something that looks like a bomb to try and cause panic. They're saying it's the equivalent to yelling "Fire." You didn't start a fire, but you caused panic by making people think there was a fire. I go back and forth on this one, because I went to school with people who would do that sort of shit to try and disrupt class, but you'd think that no prior history of being a problem-causer would earn you a little charity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted September 17, 2015 Wait, are we seriously arguing that this may have looked bomb-like enough that the school and police may have possibly been justified in their reaction? Maybe I'm misunderstanding the tone of the posts here but it seems ludicrous that we would even be having this debate when it's clear from virtually every report that this kid did nothing more than make a clock that he was proud of and wanted to show to his teachers. This is getting weird. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apple Cider Posted September 17, 2015 Yeah, if a white kid had brought this in, I really don't feel like this would have been the reaction. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dewar Posted September 17, 2015 We live in a world where someone can get suspended for bringing a squirt gun to school. I'm just saying that the reaction is somewhat in line with the ridiculous paranoid crap that goes on in schools all the time. Do I think that people are way too paranoid across the board, certainly. Do I think that a white kid would have been treated differently in this situation, maybe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted September 17, 2015 Yeah, if a white kid had brought this in, I really don't feel like this would have been the reaction. This is so true. And I think I even saw an article yesterday pointing out all the instances of white kids doing this exact same thing without anyone batting an eye. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dewar Posted September 17, 2015 I guess I had a lot of times where faculty were shitty to me when I was younger, so my expectation of faculty to always be shitty is pretty high. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reyturner Posted September 17, 2015 The key, to me, is that they called the cops to arrest the kid (who only ever said it was a clock) but didn't evacuate the school. How can they argue they were following protocols in the face of a credible threat when they clearly knew it wasn't a bomb? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
namman siggins Posted September 17, 2015 They can't. It comes down to him being brown, Arab and name like Ahmed Mohmad. That's a fact. This is shit I've faced most my life and other people I know too: the browner and forgein you are, the higher you'll be punished for non-sense shit. This is a fact of life. And I'm somewhat glad my parents changed my name to something more American: one less strike against ne Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben X Posted September 17, 2015 I don't know that I'd classify a pencil box as a "big metal case" or a "suitcase". For a sense of scale, use the electrical plug that's in shot. This is a marketing photo of the case, giving you a better sense of what size that is: Wow, that NYTimes article is seriously misleading in that regard. Except 1) the officer who interrogated him explicitly profiled him ("that's who I thought it was"), 2) said it looked like a "movie bomb" not an actual bomb I can't find these in that article, were they reported elsewhere? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tberton Posted September 17, 2015 From the Dallas Morning News, who originally reported the story. Way down in the article. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dewar Posted September 17, 2015 I somehow missed/spaced the fact that he was arrested, not just detained at school. That's fucked up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted September 17, 2015 Arrested, escorted out of the school in handcuffs, interrogated and suspended from school for 3 days. And the school, the police and the mayor of the city have all defended the actions taken. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thefncrow Posted September 17, 2015 What's more, he was a minor detained and questioned by police prior to his parents being informed, his interrogation took place without the presence of a parent or a lawyer, and police denied his request to call his parents while he was being interrogated. All of which violates all sorts of rules for how police are allowed to interrogate minors. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites