# So why don't they serve droids in the Cantina? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 24, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928 "2004-09-24T19:32:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/21 "2004-09-24T21:59:26Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > I’m sure they’d make exceptions for Bender units. Actually, I’m kind of thinking that might be the reason for not serving droids in the first place. Barkeep: Hey, kid, get those droids out of here. Whiney-- I mean, Luke: But whyyyyyyyyyyyy? Barkeep: Look, if I let those droids in, then I gotta let all droids in, and after what that sonofabitch Bender did last time – no way, ho zay! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/22 "2004-09-24T22:15:17Z")
Flexo: This is an outrage, an OUTRAGE! I’M GONNA TORCH THIS WHOLE PLACE! Nah, I’m just kidding, it’s cool. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/23 "2004-09-24T22:17:38Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Just twenty years earlier, droids were being used extensively as soldiers and I presume, in law enforcement. Nice bit of retconning. 😉 Seriously, even though I greatly doubt whether Lucas really knew what he was going to do with the backstory and its droid armies, that rationale actually fits quite nicely into the overall story. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Dirx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@Sir\_Dirx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Dirx)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/24 "2004-09-24T22:34:19Z")
If I recall correctly (and there’s a good chance I don’t), Wuher (the barkeep) was afraid of droids taking over his job. This fear grew into an outright prejudice against droids. At least, that’s what I think was in the “Tales of the Cantina” book, which may or may not be canon according to who you ask (I’d heard that the “Tales of” books were all canon according to Lucas, whereas most of the regular novels weren’t). Dirx (who is overly fond of parentheses) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/25 "2004-09-24T23:01:57Z")
I think it was because R2 would have recorded that Greedo didn’t shoot first. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/26 "2004-09-24T23:55:33Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Nice bit of retconning. 😉 > > Seriously, even though I greatly doubt whether Lucas really knew what he was going to do with the backstory and its droid armies, that rationale actually fits quite nicely into the overall story. I know. 😛 I just knew somebody was gonna bust me on that. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/27 "2004-09-25T00:14:56Z")
> [@Steelerphan](#): > > I thought it was because the riff-raff of the galaxy need someone to look down upon. Droids do jobs no one else would, right? > [@levdrakon](#): > > Assuming there is no official answer to this question, then my theory is something like this: > > Just twenty years earlier, droids were being used extensively as soldiers and I presume, in law enforcement. Since most of the beings in that cantina were scum & villains, many of them probably still resent droids, or at least what droids often represented. So after the Empire switched to using Stormtroopers as their thugs, there was a cultural backlash against droids in general, and particularly among those the droids would most likely have hassled. I’m sure some species had their entire planets subjugated in large part by droids. > > So it’s kinda like an ex-cop not being welcome in a prison, or a bar full of people with extensive criminal pasts. > > I say this also because the bartender said “we don’t _serve_ their kind here.” So I’m thinking a droid _could_ be served (with what? Oil? Coolant? Electricity? Liquid hydrogen?). > > So the enlightened “good” people look past their petty prejudices, and “bad” people still engage in what is basically racism based on something the droids “ancestors” did. > > Sorta. > [@Miller](#): > > A corollary to this is that droids are, essentially, walking recording devices. There are clearly a large number of fugitives in the cantina (“I have the death sentence in twelve systems!”) the clientele probably doesn’t want to take the risk that someone will download the droid’s memory at a later date and use the information therein to track them down. I assume it is that along with, and this is my own conjecture, a widespread superstitious fear of the machines that try to act like living creatures. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/28 "2004-09-25T00:20:01Z")
Droids are chewy. Yeah, I got nuthin’ Arruugh! Arrhhr! \<—wookietalk ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/29 "2004-09-25T00:23:12Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Arruugh! Arrhhr! \<—wookietalk Translation, please. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/30 "2004-09-25T00:39:10Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Translation, please. “When come back, bring Leia.” ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/31 "2004-09-25T01:27:28Z")
They’re lousy tippers. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/32 "2004-09-25T01:48:23Z")
Now playing in the cantina: by Bob Dylan _Leia, Lady, Leia_ On the cantina cable channel: _“Ewok on the Wild Side”_ followed by _"Star Wars Ep #29 -The Empire Goes Hawaiian_ late night special _The Ballad of Jedi Clampett_ ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/33 "2004-09-25T03:19:16Z")
In the novelization of Episode 4, the barkeeper says that they don’t serve anything that a droid would use. Which is basically what **Larry Mudd** and **HPL** , among others, have suggested. It’s a bar, not a machine shop. Also, in the various novels there is a fairly wide-spread prejudice against droids. Especially the more humanoid droids, like C-3PO. It isn’t really so far-fetched. A lot of people were creeped out by ASIMO, that little robot guy that Honda built. > [@Miller](#): > > A corollary to this is that droids are, essentially, walking recording devices. There are clearly a large number of fugitives in the cantina (“I have the death sentence in twelve systems!”) the clientele probably doesn’t want to take the risk that someone will download the droid’s memory at a later date and use the information therein to track them down. I never thought of that, but it’s true that allowing droids into a place like the Cantina would be like allowing someone to bring a camera into a brothel. The people who go there do not want publicity. ---
**Author:** ![AveDementia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@AveDementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AveDementia)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/34 "2004-09-25T03:54:38Z")
> [@Menocchio](#): > > Also, the clientele of that place looked to be the sort that probably couldn’t afford droid servants. > > It’s class jealousy. Are they servants? I always thought they were slaves since they never mention getting paid, and they’re bought and sold like possessions. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/35 "2004-09-25T07:48:02Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Now playing in the cantina: Don’t forget “The Death Star Defenses Are Down” from _Ani, Get Your Gungan_. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/36 "2004-09-25T08:14:17Z")
Droids take too long to cook. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/37 "2004-09-25T08:26:15Z")
> [@Muad'Dib](#): > > I assume it is that along with, and this is my own conjecture, a widespread superstitious fear of the machines that try to act like living creatures. I hadn’t thought of that. Notice that, while they clearly have the technology, there are no droids that could pass for human, or that look even remotely organic. I also wonder how typical C-3PO’s behavior is for other humanoid robots: prissy, efeminate, submissive, and physically awkward. About as non-threatening as imaginable. Can’t really think of any other civilian humanoid droids from the movie. There’s the silver one that looks like C-3PO who says something rude to him in an alien language at the beginning of Star Wars, and the rest are all military droids (the droids on the Death Star, the assassin droid turned bounty hunder IG-88, the Trade Federation’s droid army) which would, of course, have an entirely different design philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/38 "2004-09-25T09:24:39Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Nice bit of retconning. 😉 > > Seriously, even though I greatly doubt whether Lucas really knew what he was going to do with the backstory and its droid armies, that rationale actually fits quite nicely into the overall story. Well, though I’m not a starwars-head at all, I will mention the 2 obvious clues that he did have some of the backstory worked out from the time ‘a new hope’ was being written: - the fact that he called it ‘episode 4’ in the first place. 😃 - the references to obi-wan kenobi ‘fighting in the clone wars’ ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/39 "2004-09-25T13:38:21Z")
Don’t you start on that ‘Episode 4’ thing. Or else. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928/40 "2004-09-25T16:35:27Z")
> [@AveDementia](#): > > I always thought they were slaves since they never mention getting paid, and they’re bought and sold like possessions. …and typically fitted with “restraining bolts.” (Not to mention C-3PO’s assumption that the proper form of address to use with Luke was “Master.”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-why-dont-they-serve-droids-in-the-cantina/265928.md?page=3)