A few days ago, a young boy took to school his homemade clock that had a striking resemblance to a suitcase bomb. Things happened, and the Internet gobbled up the story. It’s still being regurgitated as we speak. Let’s have a chat about the #iStandWithAhmed movement. But first, let’s expand the subject, a bit.

The definition of injustice

Injustice. It’s everywhere. People are falsely accused, and wrongfully imprisoned. They’re terminated from their places of work without cause. Parents are reprimanded for the way they choose to raise their children, and sometimes they’re even forced to turn their kids over to the state.

Apparently, it’s so difficult to get a fair shake in this World that the term “injustice” is expanding in order to accommodate all the new offenses. Like Social Injustice. Where women in video games, both the game characters and the game developers, aren’t getting the respect they deserve.

You remember #gamergate, right? Oh, and fast food workers who get paid a tiny fraction of what the company CEO makes because our laws don’t regulate that, they’re victims, too. What else? There are so many, these days. Oh yeah, nude pantyhose is a type of social injustice to black women, because it’s white privilege. The previous sentence is a great example of social injustice, because I made the heterosexist, and gender normative assumption that only women wear pantyhose. Oops! I could go on and on.

Are these really examples of injustice, though? There are two sides to every story, after all. Take the case of the Christian baker in Colorado, for example. Many would argue that the gay couple that was denied service suffered an injustice. Others would claim that the business owners, who had to pay an exorbitant fine for following their religion, were the ones who suffered the injustice. With this case, and with many other issues of injustice, people want to pick sides, and technology is allowing them to do so in fascinating ways.

Back to Ahmed Mohamed, the clock boy. If you haven’t heard the full story, here it is. He’s a bright, 14 year old high school student who aspires to become an engineer. Oh, yeah, he’s a Muslim, if you’re interested. I don’t know if that fact is really central to the story, but according to the CNN headlines it is, so I feel obliged to include it.

The clock boy

Ahmed created a homemade clock, using a small case, wires, a digital digit display, and various other components. It’s something I might have done when I was a kid after watching MacGyver. Although it wasn’t a part of any assignment, he decided to take his clock to school. He claims he simply wanted to impress an engineering teacher.

According to Ahmed, he showed the device to the engineering teacher, who looked it over and said, “Nice. Listen, kid, let me give you a little advice…Don’t show that thing to any of your other teachers, ok? Trust me on this.” Or something to that effect.

Unfortunately, it beeped in his English class, so he whipped it out and showed it to his English teacher. We don’t know if she asked him to pull it out, or if his inventor’s pride overwhelmed him and caused him to do so voluntarily, but he did it. Had it been a beeping Kindle Paperwhite, filled with delightful literary classics, she probably would have been able to identify it. Because English teachers know how to do that. English teachers do not, however, know how to distinguish between a suitcase clock with wires sticking out of its digital digit display and a suitcase bomb with wires and a digital countdown timer. Unless that English teacher happened to have read a book on the subject. This particular teacher had not. She thought it was a bomb.

Ahmed was taken to the school office, where the police were called. The young innovator isn’t as talkative when he’s not speaking with fellow engineers, as his demeanor while being interviewed by the police was described as passive aggressive and unhelpful. We don’t know all the details, but we know he was handcuffed. And suspended. Did this bright, young horologist experience injustice, or did he just win the Reparation Lottery? Or both?

The Irving police provided this picture of Ahmed’s bomb naughty clock.

The tech effect on injustice

Technology has had a profound effect on injustice, and it has altered the role of victim. First and most obvious, the internet, and by internet I mean, primarily, social media, has created an online environment where each and every real or perceived injustice has an opportunity to be the latest Injustice Heard ‘Round the World. Victims are showered with condolences and praise. They become global heroes, which seems to be an enviable way to spend one’s 15 minutes of fame. The alleged or proven persecutor often becomes a global villain, sometimes getting shamed out of prestigious careers. That’s a situation we should probably discuss on its own. Right now I want to focus on the victims. Once a victim goes viral, the Internet feels the need to make things right. Comforting words and praise aren’t enough. Internet Reparations are in order.

Ahmed Mohamed endured an embarrassing situation. He was handcuffed. At school. Because of his naughty clock. So the internet activated his Reparation Lottery. The offers are still rolling in, but he’s already scored some killer opportunities.

He won an internship at Twitter, Inc. Alexis Ohanian, a Reddit, Inc. co-founder, awarded him an internship, and a personal introduction to Reddit’s friends in science, whoever they are. Carl Bass, the CEO of Autodesk, Inc. announced that Ahmed won an opportunity to hang out and “make something new together.” He won a free circuit kit from 123D Circuits. On Wednesday, he was awarded with special recognition from astrophysicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, an MIT professor, who also invited him to tour the school. Former NASA astronaut Daniel Tani informed Ahmed that he had won a used NASA t-shirt. It was worn in space, which I guess makes it valuable. Young Mr. Mohamed also won a scholarship to Space Camp USA. If he gets to meet Jinx while he’s there, I’m going to be extremely jealous. Who knew that injustice could be so lucrative?

But wait, there’s more. Ahmed’s injusticlock also helped him win a full scholarship the New European College international business school, a mentorship from Grammy award winning singer Ne-Yo, and a good chunk of a $100,000 scholarship crowdfunding campaign. He’s received complimentary membership to the Dallas area hackerspace, TheLab.ms, which waived the 18 year old age requirement, and provided him with an Arduino, solar panels, and additional hardware. He also received mad props from both President Obama and Mark Zuckerberg, and invitations to tour the White House and Facebook HQ. I’m not sure which one is more impressive. Probably Facebook. The only thing missing from Ahmed’s Reparation Lottery is the customary crowdfunded cash prize. It’s still early in the game, though. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an #iStandWithAhmed GoFundMe campaign pop up in the next few days.

The wrong path to justice?

Is this the best way to handle injustice, and to make amends to victims? That’s not for me to say. But I’m going to, anyway. No, it isn’t. This is absolutely the wrong way to handle these types of situations. First of all, these Reparation Lotteries often start awarding gifts before the entire story is told. For example, do you feel differently about the victim when you learn that he responded to questions like, “What is that device? Why did you bring it to school?” with answers such as, “A clock. Because I wanted to tell time.” That hasn’t been widely reported. Some of those gifts and awards might have been withheld, if it was known how difficult he had been during questioning.

That’s not the biggest problem, though. The fact that it’s a luck-of-the-draw lottery is the big concern. Who gets the victimization hookup? There’s no telling. It depends on who the luckiest of the unlucky is on that particular day. While Ahmed Mohamed gets virtual high fives from across the planet, countless other victims suffer alone. Clearly there’s a need being met when we give charitable reparations. It makes us feel significant. It lets us pick sides in a more meaningful way than simply debating the topic on Facebook. I get that, and I don’t want to take that away from you.

Let me offer an alternative. When you see injustice, if you feel inspired to give, do it. Give generously. But not directly to the latest viral victim sensation. Instead, give to a cause that you believe will help address the problem on a larger scale. You can even do it in honor of the famous victim who inspired you.

That’s exactly what I’m going to do, if there’s any time left in Ahmed’s 15 minutes of notoriety. I’ll start an #iStandWithAhmed GoFundMe campaign to try to raise money to purchase a 3D printer that I’ll donate to a local public library in Ahmed Mohamed’s name. I’ll even fasten a little #iStandWithAhmed plaque on the front. That way little boys and girls from across the metroplex can all benefit from the generosity of the internet that was inspired by the adversity faced and overcome by one young man who loved to make clocks. That look like bombs.

Photo courtesy of Anil Dash