If you guys have ever personally dealt with media, you would understand how the media can distort things way out of proportion.

Been there, done that. And Marvey has understated how bad it can be.

Personally, I don't think the people in authority are retarded. Stupid, yeah. But not that retarded that they wanna take it on a kid. It could've been something that triggered the whole incident but overlooked or wasn't reported.

Or perhaps I'm too far in the East that I wouldn't understand the situation in the States.

IMO, if it happens over here, ain't no one got time for that shit. Nobody's gonna be alarmed. That's what I think.

Obviously none of you guys have kids in schools, have dealt with security procedures at schools (or anywhere else which requires such procedures), have friends who work in law enforcement, or have experienced media distort events so they could sell papers.[/font

I have. For 30 years. Until the media dust clears, I will not judge what anyone did. Been there too many times. In my experience the media gets it wrong at first most of the time. It's the need to be "breaking news". To hell with accuracy.

I have. For 30 years. Until the media dust clears, I will not judge what anyone did. Been there too many times. In my experience the media gets it wrong at first most of the time. It's the need to be "breaking news". To hell with accuracy.

I figured you would actually get it and I don't even want to imagine all the crap that you've had to deal with as an educator.

People on the outside think it's a matter of you (as an educator) being able to make a expert determination on whether a device in a suitcase is indeed a bomb or clock. Unfortunately, most educators don't have OJ's skills in determining whether such circuits are a bomb trigger or not. People also believe that you (as an experienced educator) can simply decide on your own accord to brush that off as a joke and let the matter slide after giving the kid a slap on the wrist.

Yes, maybe it's too much 24 with Kieffer Sutherland, or stupid redneck hick teachers in TX (as the articles would like us to believe that all people in TX are stupid and racist). But what people don't understand is that when in doubt, the educator is not supposed to be the guy from the Hurt Locker and that there are certain policies and procedures to follow.

The crux of issue is whether the educator(s) legitimately feared the suitcase was a real bomb or a hoax. This we may never know. What I do know is that whether that fear was imagined or real, that kid was going to "juvie" and get suspended for a few days, even if the kid explained "it's a clock! really, it's a clock". A perceived bomb threat is still a bomb threat, and there are penalties for that.

There are reasons for not taking the kid's statements of innocence at face value (I am assuming the kid tried to explain it was a clock). It's a matter of security protocol.

Excess paranoia and too much 24 with Kieffer? Probably. But keep in mind that Anaxilus (when he worked as a contractor for me) managed to get into the vault (past three perimeters) of a local bank while carrying a suitcase big enough to house a small machine gun. He has able to do so because the security protocols at this bank were not functioning and certain individuals made their "own calls" - they got bamboozled by Anaxilus' obi-wan powers. I've worked as a professional in the digital and physical security arena for a while.

P.S. Kid should have made a headphone amplifier.