Hickory Dickory Dock...

If I made a clock it would almost look this good.

WHAT TIME IS IT?
It's time for Ahmed's 15 minutes of clock fame to be over.

#IDONTSTANDWITHAHMED #ISTANDWITHPOLICE #ISTANDWITHTEACHERS

I am genuinely irritated with this clock kid. Well, not just the kid but all the media outlets, CEO's, and US Presidents making this kid out to be boy wonder. He's not. He's also not a victim.

This is not your father's America. Horrendous things happen every day and we can not afford to ignore suspicious circumstances. I don't know what a bomb looks like, but if something is in a case that looks like a briefcase and it ticks I'm calling the police. A concerned teacher reports a suspicious item to the authorities - she did EXACTLY what she should have done, as did the principal, and the police.

Police described Ahmed as being “passive aggressive” in his answers to their questions, and didn’t have a “reasonable answer” as to what he was doing with the case.  Ahmed is telling what happened during his interrogation and people are believing it. If I'm choosing between believing the police or believing a 14 year old kid, I'm going with the police. Teachers and police - 2 groups underpaid and overworked and we choose to trust the kid.

The face of a kid that just hit the Victim jackpot, 

I don't know the whole story here. I have heard (and it seems pretty legit) that he actually didn't even "invent" this clock. What I DO know is that we are deterring people from speaking up when they are uncomfortable about a situation that could be dangerous. The next person that happens on something that makes them wary might just choose to ignore it. And what if it's a bomb? If we vilify the people willing to step up and speak out and celebrate the "victim" then we are setting ourselves up for potential violence. Here's the thing - you can either be safe or you can be sorry but you can't be both.

The kid now will be making the rounds, Google, Facebook, the White House. I wonder, if he had arrived at Facebook with his "pencil case" asking to see Mark Zuckerberg if security would have let him pass? Could he have taken a tour of the White House with it? And yet, he now gets to do those things. His family will sue the district and already 2 gofundme accounts are open for him, How must that teacher and those police officers feel? He's a rock star and once again we illustrate how we feel about the police in our society. He gets to roam the country trash talking the school and the police and we just watch it happen.

When I see this kid I don't think Muslim. I think of a kid and his family that are taking full advantage of a situation that was totally in their control and it is turning out much better than they could ever imagine. You want to call me Islamaphobic - go ahead, I've been called worse but why do we so quickly jump to racism and assume that he's a victim? What did he do to deserve our respect over those of the teacher and the police? Nothing. He did absolutely nothing to deserve it and yet he's getting respect and SO much more. Makes me sick.

History...it matters

I've made many mistakes and bad decisions in my life, too many to count. Many of them I regret and wish that I could erase but that's impossible. They are as much a part of my history as the good decisions that I have made. It's my history, ALL of it shaped who I am today good or bad and even if I wanted to change it - I can't. I can learn from it, and to be honest I wouldn't want it to change.

In American history we have committed horrible, despicable acts as well as many remarkable acts that changed the world. We have a dark, grisly past that the majority of Americans would likely desire to forget. Yet, we cannot erase it. It is part of our past and it cannot be forgotten, only forgiven. We can use it improve our relationships with others. We can learn from our mistakes if allowed to do so.

In the wake of the sickening crime in South Carolina many are calling for the ban of the Confederate flag in all forms (including the General Lee from the Dukes of Hazzard, Civil War video games, movies, books and probably more that I haven't heard of yet.) For many Americans the flag represents racism and injustice. I recognize that the flag in whatever form is seditious and I agree that it should be removed from government buildings because it sends the message that the government endorses the various interpretations assigned to the flag. However, I believe that the rapid response to expunge it permanently is wrong. Again, it's part of our history and as such it can never be entirely forgotten.

I have read of many related incidents happening, the call to rename a school named after Robert E. Lee (so far, I've only heard of one but I'm sure many will follow.)  Changing the name of the school won't change the fact that Robert E. Lee was a Confederate General in the Civil War. Trying to erase Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson and others would make for a very lopsided history of the United States. In order to accomplish this we would have to erase the entire Civil War. The Civil War is a monumental factor in the history of the United States and cannot possibly be forgotten. It is nonsensical to even attempt.

Gone With the Wind? Classic book and movie. Get your copy now while it's still available. It has been suggested that it should "go the way of the Confederate flag" and be consigned to museums. Hattie McDaniel (Mammy) was the first African American to win an Academny Award. If she were alive today would she want GWTW relegated to a museum?

Racism is vile. Defacing statues, banning video games, movies, changing school names, altering history books will not in any way 'revise' our past. Removing the 'symbols' of racism will not eradicate it.

Yes, black lives do matter. All lives matter. History matters. Leave it alone and let us learn from it.