Watching the American president being ambushed by a shoe-throwing Iraqi citizen was not amusing.
From what I recall of the culture, throwing a shoe is the equivalent of offering the universal one-finger salute. It’s a sign of utmost disrespect.
The meaning was pounded home the first time I watched the toppled statue of Saddam being whipped with shoe soles after the American invasion, when Iraqi citizens took to the streets.
Thinking about it now, just moments after watching the clip of Bush dodging a pair of disgruntled shoes, I can only imagine two more-humiliating insults: being spat on, or eating from the same dish with someone who uses their left hand. Oh, and being forced to eat pork would make three (if I were a Muslim).
A shoe comes in contact with things we don’t want our feet to touch. It protects the foot from filth, extreme temperatures, the hard ground, stones, dangerous objects, and even disease. The sole catches the worst of it, so I feel that being hit with a sole would top the list of shoe parts to use.
Being kicked with a shoe is more insulting than being kicked with a bare foot. Stepping on someone’s face or head is pretty low and degrading. Having to kiss someone’s foot is a sign of inferiority. Being a boot licker is lower than being a lint licker. Getting kicked to death? (I think my kicking outrage comes from having watched A Way of Life last night.)
Don’t get me wrong. I am not a Bush supporter. But he is human. He is an American citizen before being the worst president in my history. He is an American president, albeit an unpopular one.
This is where my point comes home. An American president, openly attacked in public, is a sign of disrespect to all Americans.
Where were the secret service agents? Where were the Iraqi guards? Why was a response to the attack so slow in coming? Why did the reporters look askance at each other before making a weak attempt to stop the shoe-thrower?
I wonder if Bush wet his pants, thinking it was an assassination attempt?
His response was the best of his presidency. I think it was staged. (Laughing hard here.) I think he paid the man to throw those shoes on cue. Then he could duck and show everyone how brave he is under fire.
He spoke of shoe throwing as a sign of democracy in action.
Okay, I gotta stop here. I’m about to wet my own pants “cause I’m laffin” so hard.
Still, and all, remember what I said. Every American dodged a bullet … er … shoe this time. The insult still stands.
When viewers watch the shoe-throwing clip and laugh at soon-to-be ex-president Bush, some of them are laughing at themselves, because after all … they voted for him. The rest of us just aren’t very charitable.
