ICYMI, a 14-year-old student in Irving, Texas has been in the middle of a mass of controversy after he brought a digital clock he’d made from spare parts into school, and his school thought it was a bomb.
Ahmed Mohamed, who is Muslim, was led away in handcuffs and suspended from school for three days, sparking a national conversation of racism in a post-September 11 America.
“It just shocked me that people could do this to him,” said his cousin, 15-year-old Muram Ibrahim, quoted in the SMH. “He’s a 14-year-old boy, and he’s a genius. I thought there was a lot of diversity at Irving [Independent School District], and I thought that it was different from other school districts. But I was wrong, and it makes me really sad that I’m wrong.”
Well, it turns out two of the most powerful people in America are behind Ahmed, even if his school isn’t: President of the United States Barack Obama, and President of Your Data Mark Zuckerberg.
“Cool clock, Ahmed,” Obama tweeted. “Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.”
Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.
— President Obama (@POTUS) September 16, 2015
Old mate Zucks posted (on Facebook, obvs):
“Ahmed, if you ever want to come by Facebook, I’d love to meet you. Keep building.”
Meanwhile, Zelda Williams has pretty much nailed why this whole situation is so fucked up:
One of these is Ahmed’s ‘bomb’, the other, the original Apple 1 computer. One’s in a museum. The other’s in evidence. pic.twitter.com/ZuWHrUSrk5
— Zelda Williams (@zeldawilliams) September 16, 2015
Picture: Twitter / Pool via Getty Images.
