#standwithahmed

#StandWithAhmed: a deadly publicity stunt?

Irving MacArthur High School student Ahmed Mohamed, 14, poses for a photo at his home in Irving, Texas on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015. Mohamed was arrested and interrogated by Irving Police officers on Monday after bringing a homemade clock to school. Police don’t believe the device is dangerous, but say it could be mistaken for a fake explosive. He was suspended from school for three days, but he…

Most of you don't know this, but when I was younger, the bomb squad was called to my high school because of me. The recent stories about Ahmed Mohamed reminded me of this memory.

Here's what happened:

In 10th grade, my show choir teacher (also the school's vice principal), Mr. Jesse was a hero to me. He was extremely supportive of our Alpha-Omega club, got me to love musicals, and supported my dream of being an artist one day.

One day, I wrote a letter thanking him and included a small gift (one of those Jesus fish car magnets, since I knew his faith was important to him) and put it into a small, sealed envelope with his name on it. I left it on the desk in his office after class.

Later that morning, he found the envelope but thought it felt suspicious. The "IXOYE" letters of the fish felt like wiring, he thought. The staff just went through a special training on bomb threat detection. He called two of the staff leads, who called 911 right away.

The police came first. The demolitions expert felt the envelope and also thought it was suspicious. So, 2 fire trucks, an ambulance, 10 more police cars, a SWAT team van, and a bomb disposal unit followed. When they finally opened the envelope and looked inside, the bomb expert exclaimed, "Jesus Christ!" People jumped and asked what it was. He said, "No, literally, Jesus Christ. It's just a f**ckin Jesus fish."

I was called into the principal's office immediately but nothing happened. I saw all of the cars, police, bomb squad, not realizing that it was all caused by me. They all thought it was hilarious to prank me and make it seem like I was in a lot of trouble. But they ended up telling me the story and laughing. Mr. Jesse teared up after reading the letter, saying the gift was beautiful.

An interesting perspective:

I said: it's sad they thought that kid had a bomb. She said: they didn't think he had a bomb. I said: yes, they thought he made a bomb and even called the police. She said: They just wanted to humiliate a little Muslim, African boy. They didn't think he had a bomb. I said: Don't be a conspiracist. They might be a little prejudiced, but I'm sure they thought he had a bomb. She said: Ok. But they didn't evacuate the school, like you do when there's a bomb. They didn't call a bomb squad - like you do when there's a bomb They didn't get as far away from him as possible - like you do when there's a bomb. Then they put him and the clock in an office- not like you do when there's a bomb Then they waited with him for the police to arrive. Then they put the clock in the same car as the police. Then they took pictures of it. I said: Damn

They never thought he had a bomb.