Originally published at: Man caught with dangerous "vampire straw" at airport | Boing Boing
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I am going to assume this is rhetorical?
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Dang it. Turns out “vampire straws” aren’t used like I thought they were.
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why was this individual arrested, while Madison Cawthorne, who was caught going through airport security with a handgun, was not?
Because a gun isn’t a weapon, it’s a patriotic fashion accessory. Duh.
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“Sorry, sir. You’ll have to finish that drink before you come through security.”
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Man, if they didn’t want people to use them, they should give them a name that is less cool.
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I mean, it is shaped like a syringe.
Also; this sort of thing makes me embarrassed that my 14 yo self would have found these “cool”.
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Tapioca pearls won’t stand a chance against these bad boys.
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Alternate name: “Poke a hole in the bottom of your paper cup” straw.
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Yikes, that is a horrible weapon; reminding me of the sharpened scaffolding pipe that cameos in “Violent Cop”, a Takeshi Kitano film from 1989.
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Cawthorn wasn’t charged the first time (in Asheville) but actually WAS issued a misdemeanor citation (in lieu of arrest) for having a dangerous weapon on city property after the second time he got caught with a gun by TSA (in Charlotte). And he has a trial date set for May 5 (https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/madison-cawthorns-gun-case-moved-to-april/).
But note that both Dumb-as-Rocks Cawthorn and the Boston Vampire were charged under state/local laws. TSA screeners have no arrest powers so it’s the local cops who decide what to charge, applying state/local law. Massachusetts has a broad dangerous weapon statute, while it’s legal for Cawthorn to carry his handgun in most of North Carolina (which is probably why he got away with it in Asheville). In Charlotte he was charged specifically with violating a city ordinance that restricts carrying dangerous weapons on city-owned property. And apparently, “It is standard procedure for the CMPD Airport Division to cite in lieu of arrest for the misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous weapon on city property unless there are other associated felony charges or extenuating circumstances.” (see https://www.qcnews.com/news/politics/madison-cawthorn-appears-in-court-over-weapons-citation-at-clt-airport/)
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I once took my kid to the LaGuardia Airport Kiwanis Club’s “Kid’s Day”. It was a pretty cool event where you could walk around on the tarmac, sit in a couple of planes’ cockpits, see the airport snow removal and firefighting equipment up close, etc. They also invited NYC Dept of Corrections to have a little display, since Rikers Island (NYC’s biggest jail) is right next to LGA.
NYCDOC brought some cool equipment of their own like a jet ski that they use to patrol around the island. But I thought it was really bizarre that at “Kids’ Day” they decided to show off their riot gear (“hey kids, check out the clubs we use to beat inmates when they act up?”) and… appropos of vampire straws…the official Rikers Island shiv collection–a big glass display box filled with every kind of object you can possibly imagine fashioning into a stabby weapon (toothbrushes, combs, pens, broken off pieces of furniture, etc.). I had a heck of a time explaining the concept of a shiv to my 6 year old.
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Shocking. Traditionally, you’d use a bamboo cane for that. Kids today…
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No offense to Peter Serafinowicz or Townsend Coleman, but The Tick sounded like Patrick Warburton in my head just then.
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Need a Death Match (oh… 6000) betwixt a wielder of a ‘vampire straw’ and another with a good sharpened stick …or hey, how about a pencil (via g.gordon.liddy)?
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I love the hard-nosed detective’s response to the Tick’s outburst in the last panel. 
It was so weird seeing our Pete in that role; he’s normally the go-to guy for political satire. Both of those live action series were such a good giggle in their own ways. Thanks for the reminder.
`
`Say what you like
— Peter Serafinowicz (@serafinowicz) April
about Thatcher, at least she had the decency to shoot
herself.
8, 2013
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