Peter Mayhew, Chewbacca in the Star Wars films, was on his way home to Texas from the Denver Comic Con when TSA wouldn’t let the 7-foot 2-inch actor through airport security with his lightsaber-styled cane. Mayhew sat down in a wheelchair and tweeted a complaint to his 20,000+ followers.
“Giant man need giant cane… small cane snap like toothpick… besides… my light saber cane is just cool… I would miss it…”
Only after he posted several pictures of the incident on his official Twitter account @thewookieroars did agents relent and pass him through with his cane.
[Thanks to Craig Miller for the story.]
Were they afraid he was going to laser his way through the pressurized cabin? Or trip the stewards?
Stephen Colbert weighs in:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/06/12/stephen-colbert-on-tsa-agents-stopping-chewbacca-actor-video/
The Theft from your Suitcase Association goons did not let Mr. Mayhew win, they gave in because they were being outed. They knew damned well they were just throwing their weight around — if it truly was threatening, they couldn’t have been embarrassed into letting him keep his property.
The likelihood was that one of the goons wanted the item for a personal thrill or to resell it, but realized he couldn’t get away with it once the attempted theft was publicized.
The TSA requires an intelligence test for employment: if you’re able to read and understand the plain English of the Fourth Amendment,
you’re too smart to work for them.