Man who carried martial arts weapon on plane arrested at Chicago airport (pulled nunchuks in flight)

Fresno Bee ^ | 10.24.03

[mhking]

CHICAGO (AP) - A 35-year-old man was arrested at Midway Airport after causing a ruckus on an inbound flight with a martial arts weapon, police said.

The unidentified man was aboard Southwest Airlines flight 1233 Thursday when he pulled the weapon from a violin case and began pacing inside the plane.

[mhking]

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[At _War_With_Liberals]

[scottinoc]

Now you got that song playing in my head!

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

Hmmm- notice how the passengers, with the example of 9/11 in mind, leaped up as one and overpowered this maniac.

Oh, they didn't do ANYTHING? Pretty much as I suspected. There was a lot of Grrr-woofery about how passengers were going to "fight back" from now on- but the fact is that most Americans are as docile as rabbits.

[OhhTee5]

No, most Americans are very smart and very patient!

They calculated what the man was carrying (a defensive weapon). They were poised and ready to strike if needed, but allowed patience and maturity to rule the moment.

Thus the professionals trained to handle the situation, the flight crew and the pilots took the responsible and prudent actions. The plane lands safely, all dis-embark safely and the mentally challenged person who allegedly didn't take his meds was apprehended by the appropriate authorities.

Americans have proven themselves as courageous and fearless fighters since the beginning of our Republic, and continue to do so to this day.

They have also learned and instilled a strong sense of decency and tolerance for other people, even the ones we disagree with and are willing to size up a situation instead of makeing a snap judgement and possibly overreacting.

I'm sure if there was the slightest hint of danger or concern, the American men and women would respond as needed.

Congratulations to the calm and level-headed passengers. You make us proud!

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

Wow- do you do "spin" for a living? Great job on this one! If you don't already work for the TSA or an airline, you should send this little exchange attached to a resume.

By the way, Nunchaku can be an extremely OFFENSIVE weapon- but you knew that, didn't you?

[JBBooks]

Defensive weapon?! I have studied the arts for 15 years and they are brutal weapons which can be used offensively with very little training. One good swing and even a moron can kill a person, very dead, very quickly.

The question that begs to be answered is how the h*ll did he ever get that prohibited weapon on board? Maybe the TSA people were too busy seizing nail clippers and cigarette lighters to pay any attention to the nunchukas?

Yikes!

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Tell me about it!

[kaboom]

Even with calm and level headed passengers, this man should never have been allowed off the plane before having the nunchuks properly stored within his rectum.

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

Yes- I thought that was a brilliant touch in that reply- "defensive weapon", indeed! Nunchaku are a weapon in the same way that a baseball bat can be used as a weapon- for defense or offense. (I also liked her description of the passengers as being "poised and ready"- as if they weren't cowering in their seats, hoping to be left alone by this nutjob.)

[Double Tap]

Perhaps I missed something in the article, but it appears to me that once the flight attendant asked the nunchuk guy to take a seat, he did. What would you have the passengers do?

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

"What would you have the passengers do?" Good question.

My point was that we have been bombarded with endless propaganda about the readiness of airline passengers to rise up and defend their aircraft from any threat. We see that this is nonsense, and that passengers are in fact pretty much as submissive and ineffectual as they were BEFORE 9/11 (leaving aside a small group of brave and desperate people who DID act on that day).

I fly all the time- and I ALWAYS sit on the aisle, as far forward as I can arrange. I promise you that a nutjob prowling the aisles of my airplane with a weapon is going to meet some resistance. Of course, you would be sitting, "poised and ready", until the plane hits the ground.

Nunchaku, by the way, are quite deadly. Have you ever seen a REAL Nunchaku vs knife fight? I have. Guess who won?

[cardinal4]

How the hell did he get nunchaks past security??

[mhking]

The TSA guy thought they were maracas?

[fourdeuce82d]

suffers from manic depression and may not have been taking his medication.

had the passengers reacted appropriately, breaking his arms and legs, and forcibly sequestering the 'chuks where they'd do the most good...I suspect he would be more diligent in keeping up with his dosage in the future.

[cardinal4]

I flew from BWI-STL just a few hours ago and there were three security personel per detector. Im sure its the same in all US airports and Im also sure one these people should have said, "Hmmmm. A violin case with no violin, I should probaly check it......" But no, it appears no one did. So I guess the next question is; What the hell are we spending all this money on at TSA? The pretty new uniforms? Sheesh....

[Double Tap]

As we get further away from Sept. 11, 2001 we will get further away from readiness to respond to any threats. I say we as in most people. Most folks don't live in condition yellow, but are blissfully ignorant, always in condition white.

Another thing to remember is that it will take a long time to undo the brainwashing that has taken place over the last 50 years. You know what I mean, the constant prattle about, "don't resist, give them what they want, voilence never solved anything, we have to understand our attackers..." Maybe we never will undo it, as it is easier to be a victim than to resist.

I would imagine that the Nunchaku would or could be a fearsome weapon as it has a decided reach advantage over a knife.

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

You are correct, of course. American society has been trying to eliminate "violence" (defined as anything that makes a liberal cringe) for a very long time. But - SURPRISE- violence still exists. Being passive in the face of a violent person means being a victim, and I'm not as comfortable with that as many seem to be.

"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees".

By the way, Nunchaku were adapted from a farm implement (the flail) specifically to allow "unarmed" farmers to defeat warriors with swords. They are really very effective, if you have some practice with them. (My practice over the years has caused more damage to ME than to anyone else, I'm afraid. I am especially good at hitting my own kneecap, or conking the back of my head...)

[Lael]

Nunchaku were adapted from a farm implement (the flail) specifically to allow "unarmed" farmers to defeat warriors with swords. They are really very effective, if you have some practice with them.

Why are they singled out as being illegal when most so called Ninja weapons aren't??