Yesterday I was angry, and to be honest, a little sad too. Like many of you, I read about Ahmed Mohamed, the Texas 9th grader that was humiliated and arrested for bringing a freaking clock that he engineered himself to school. Long story short, a brown kid with an Arabic name brings geeky clock that he made in his garage to school and EHRMAGEHRD, he’s a terrorist. I won’t go on about how the teacher and school staff at MacArthur High School, or the Irving Police Department for that matter, couldn’t have handled the situation any more poorly than they did, short of condemning him to 100 days at Gitmo on the spot. I won’t go on about how the English teacher that escalated a situation, and why perhaps she should’ve maybe gotten advice from someone at school who is actually familiar with tech… Because, oh, you know, maybe as an English teacher she was not the most qualified to judge? I digress…
Ahmed, your story touched us at GeekMundo because we’ve got kids of our own with similar interests who are brown just like you. Seeing your picture in the news, looking bewildered and confused because you were being put into handcuffs was heartbreaking for us. But of all of us, it really struck a chord with me, because I know what it’s like to be treated like somehow it’s impossible for a kid of color to actually have good intentions, and certain interests, if they don’t adhere to what people think the status quo should be. I want to tell you as someone who internalized that, please don’t let them. Don’t allow–and it seems like you’re already doing a great job of this already–the misguided school administrators, a xenophobic society, the Keystone Cops you have for a police department down there in Irving, or the transparently bigoted mayor of your town take away your drive. Don’t let anyone browbeat you into thinking you don’t have a chance, or that you are unworthy because of who your family is, their religious beliefs, and/or the color of your skin.
The reality is the world needs more kids like you to bring your unique experience and background to strengthen American innovation in STEM. That’s not an opinion, that’s a fact. We need you on our team because I truly believe that you could be the next person to pioneer something awesome, if not great because you already have.
I know you just want to go back to a normal life, and I totally wish that for you. And I hope that you go to a school that will not only treat you like a human being but will cultivate your thirst for knowledge and encourage your geeky pursuits. So, keep on geekin’ on, Ahmed. Keep on geekin’ on…
Image via Wired