Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Shoe Protest

The Maliki government in Iraq said that the throwing of shoes at President Bush was a "shameful, savage act." Certainly Muntader al-Zaidi should suffer some minor penalty for his attempted assault. But "savage?" The NY Times reports:
Mr. Zaidi was subdued by a fellow journalist and then beaten by members of the prime minister’s security detail, who hauled him out of the room in his white socks. Mr. Zaidi’s cries could be heard from a nearby room as the news conference continued. [emphasis added]
Not his "shouts" or his "protests" -- his "cries." So who's the savage in this story?

4 comments:

Rosemary said...

Plus (folklore alert), I heard that far from being "savage," in Iraq, shoe-throwing is apparently a very traditional way of registering dissent.

Ain't it nice that we're bringing democracy to the world?

Anonymous said...

Do we sense desperation?

Matt....... said...

See, this just goes to prove my point....people just cannot walk around doing or saying as they please because someone just isn't going to take it...in this case, a shoe was thrown and a few insults shouted. someone got their a$$ kicked. I hope he chooses his words and actions more carefully next time. BTW, I'm free all week if you want to debate the issue over yarn and beers. happy holidays!

Tallguy said...

So you might have gotten rid of the bush, but why is he coming here?
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090212/Bush_Calgary_090212/20090212?hub=Canada