Pop Tarts, "Clocks," and Cretins

Written by David DiCrescenzo on . Posted in Op-Ed

First of all, Ahmed Mohamed didn’t build anything…!  The only thing he did create was a deliberate stir and a bunch of agenda driven media coverage less than a week after we remembered 9/11.  Sadly and I believe very deliberately, there was a different photo published by AOL that was initially circulated and was meant to incite a lot of emotion, and it worked.  However, as the photo below left shows, the actual “clock” was more ominous and threatening looking than the bogus photo.

In case you missed it, the 14 year old middle schooler from Texas that I’m talking about decided he wanted to wow his teachers with a “science project.”  While lots of students that age come up with papier Mache volcanoes, tooth impressions, or maybe even some fossil that has never been seen before, this student decided to assemble, (not build) some pre-manufactured parts that wound up very closely resembling what any reasonable person without an agenda would say looks like a home-made bomb.  He claims he built a “clock” and it didn’t look like a bomb to him.  Maybe he needs stronger glasses…!

In a world where just over a year ago a seven year old boy was suspended from school because he chewed a pop tart so that it sort of resembled a pistol during a lunch break, the applause for Mr. “It didn’t look like a bomb to me” is beyond misplaced.  Here’s why; sadly for those Muslims who do mind their own business, an already overwhelming and growing number of them have created an environment that identifies them with death, destruction and atrocities.  Accordingly, this poorly or maybe not so poorly thought out project has driven another wedge in relations between two cultures.

While some would suggest that the boy was/is simply naïve, I’m not buying it because frankly, at fourteen, it is hard to imagine that he is that clueless.  I’m not about to let his parents off the hook either, because they share the blame and should never have allowed him to leave the house with this very ominous looking contraption.  The potential risks to public safety had anyone reacted as might be expected when something resembling a bomb was displayed are mind numbing.  The boy himself could have been mistakenly shot, or maybe someone might have been injured during any emergency vehicle response.  Either of those or countless other scenarios would have fallen squarely upon the parents’ shoulders.  In short this is not a joking matter.  

Kids have been mistakenly shot because they were holding a paintball gun and didn’t have the sense to drop it when ordered to. 

This “clock” certainly looked enough like a bomb to the first teachers that saw it that this young man was in fact removed from the class where upon the police were called in and he was arrested, if only temporarily.  

Temporarily because, and here’s where I’ll get in hot water, it turns out that this young man is a Muslim, and apparently under no set of circumstances or conditions in the America of Obama does a 14 year old Muslim boy who assembles such an ominous looking device receive anything except applause from the likes of Hillary Clinton, FB CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and POTUS who tweeted it was a “cool clock.”  

The boy now has an invite to the White House; not to mention a reach out to enroll and I’ll bet a scholarship from MIT.  I might add, if a kid name Johnny “Notamuslim” had assembled this “clock” and brought it to school, he not only wouldn’t be getting the red carpet treatment, he and his parents would rightfully be up to their necks in criminal charges.  

To be clear, I don’t care what color of skin, what faith, or what ethnic category one falls into, this sort of thing is NOT acceptable and definitely punishable.

Where are the normal cast of characters that have a fit if someone so much as brings cupcakes decorated with “green Army Soldiers” because they have guns…?!  How have we come so far in our upside down pandering that a chewed pop tart or cupcakes decorated with little green soldiers are treated as more of a potential threat than a “science project” that looks as if it could have shaken the very foundation of the building where it was displayed…?!  

Finally, I’m a dad who recognizes that this boy is getting a pat on the back instead of being severely punished, so I’m going to offer a parental admonishment on behalf of the rest of America that isn’t happy about this.  If you Ahmed or anyone else finds my words overly harsh, GOOD, because maybe you and a lot of them will wake up.

Young man, you do not deserve applause and accolades for creating this ruse.  No matter who may have put you up to it, you carried it out; you made a statement that you don’t care how your actions might affect others, and what you did not only could have caused a lot of harm to innocent people, it will almost certainly wind up being a “dry run” for others who might decide to assemble a “clock” that actually does have explosives connected to it.  You have brought the game to a new level because everyone will now be afraid since they won’t want to offend the next “Ahmed” that shows up with a “clock.”

In the end Ahmed, you’re going to get your 15 minutes of fame; you’re going to visit the WH, FB HQ, and MIT and you’ll have a fun time surrounded by media, but in two weeks no one will remember your name.  

However know this; in the minds of those of us who understand what is really going on, you’re nothing more than a sniveling little tick being propped up by bigger sniveling ticks; you and they are pimples on the butt of decent and peaceful society, and, while you probably don’t realize it or care, you are being used to make a nonsensical, (based upon such behavior) statement regarding how all of us should NOT regard all Muslims in a bad light.  

I doubt you will, but I can only hope that one day you’ll wake up and recognize what a terrible thing you really did, and what a pall you have cast on Islam as a whole; so wipe that innocent grin off your face; you’re not worth another second of anyone’s, let alone my time.

I’m real glad you didn’t, but I guess we can all wonder what might have happened if you had decided to assemble a “clock” that resembled a pressure cooker.