I have to confess I was at first highly amused at the Iraqi reporter winging a shoe at President Bush. But as I pondered more about why he threw that shoe, I realized I was proud of that Iraqi. Here is a man whose culture and country have been attacked. He likely has friends or even family who have been hurt or killed. He was given an invite to this press conference. He knew he would be in the same room with President Bush. *But* instead of lethal violence, he screamed his protest and threw his shoes at him. He yelled for thousands of dead Iraqis as a result of this war.
We could easily claim that perhaps Saddam was worse. But that does not absolve Bush from the deaths of so many. Bush commanded thousands to their deaths. Maybe it was for the greater good. Maybe it wasn’t. They are still dead. This Iraqi was angry. He was outraged. He voiced his frustration in the strongest message he could craft. Whether he is right or wrong, he was one of the bravest men I have ever seen.
I hope they let him go. No one was hurt. What a message that would be! I would begin to believe that
The Iraqi was angry - and he's in a country now where he can wing shoes at Bush and not. be. killed. because of it. His family? Living on. If he'd been caught chucking a shoe at Saddam, could we say the same?
ReplyDeleteAnd... really... while I'm all about showing protests, I'm not sure how glorified I want things... how comfortable I want to be with it all..... I love the idea of protest. The pluck 'n' guts it takes to get your voice, your intent, out there........ America was built on thumbing noses at authority, really.
But another part of me is like "DUDE.... men and women are out trying to rebuild your world. The ONLY reason they're still there is because BushCo dug their heels in, otherwise America would have turned her collective backs on you all...."
Because that's what we've been screaming for. Pull out the troops! Well, with the billions of dollars in troops and equipment goes billions worth of security and infrastructure being built...
*shrugs*
It's convoluted and not easy by any means.
On the whole, I'm freakin' thrilled the dude A.) chucked his shoe in protest and B.) is living to tell about it.
But.... part of me is incredibly bitter about the Iraq Wars. I just want to to resolve quickly and quietly.
War, no matter if it's bloody or political, is fuckin' ugly.
I agree with most of what you say here, however if there are to be charges then I hope the Iraqi justice system prevails for good, one of the cornerstones of democracy is the primacy of law. What the iraqi angry or not did was illegal, so I just hope that he pays the price, whatever the price is and if it is the sort of crime where you pay a fine, then i hope he does that rather than rot in a prison and suffer abuses etc. We need sane law and order in Iraq maybe they can show the world how much progress has been made toward that goal.
ReplyDeleteWe need sane law and order in America.
ReplyDeleteThat went out the window in the form of the United States government winging its collective shoes at the American populace in the form of civil liberty removing policies, and flat-out IGNORING the will of the people where policy is concerned.
To hell with Bush and his entire entourage.
The only REAL crime that Iraqi committed was that he missed.
I agree with Hildulf...I wish he had hit W. The saddest part is that W still probably thinks he is right and the war was necessary.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit conflicted over the whole thing....ten years ago this man could not have thrown a shoe at Saddam without KNOWING he and his family and his family's family would all die or be tortured. Now, he may get slapped or pay some price but only he will. He has the right and the ability to make a statement now. BUT...at what price, to him, his nation and to us, our nation, our future? There's just no easy answer here. I know that in the end, most of those countries need a change, but.....at what price and must we do it forcibly?
I don't even think it's a question of "must we do it forcibly" as much as a question of "do we have the right to force our views on sovereign nations?"
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to have seen Bush hand over the keys to the White House with a black eye, a fat lip, and tissue up his nose to dam the bleeding...
ReplyDeleteAs goes the nation's image, so should go the President's...
True. Inspire the people to rise up, give them the means to, but yeah....we weren't even invited.
ReplyDeleteWell I'm not commenting on the validity of the Iraqi War. On the one hand, if the worst thing that ever happens to President Bush in judgement of the war is having to duck a shoe, he is a blessed man.
ReplyDeleteBut on the other hand, I don't think a person should be "allowed" to hurl a shoe at anybody. But on the whole, I do not see the crime as any greater because it was the President. In the US, he would probably pay a fine and do some community service (assuming the target was not the President). I think that's all that should happen now. I recently read that he may be imprisioned for up to 15 years. That I think would be tragic and wrong.
Somehow, I think Bush will be paying for his decisions for a long, long time.
ReplyDelete