who throws a shoe? honestly!

That really hurt! I'm gonna have a lump there, you idiot! Who throws a shoe? Honestly! You fight like a woman!

I was in a waiting room yesterday so I saw the (repeated) news coverage of the shoes thrown at President Bush during a press conference in Iraq.

At first I thought that the 5 seconds it took the secret service to respond was sorta too long, but now I agree with the statements in this article - unless you shield the president from all human contact, you can't really prevent this kind of incident.

Great fodder for late night comedians.

Not a fan of the president.  At all. But I wouldn't throw my shoes at him. Dang.

But that guy did have really good aim. And it reminded me of the Austin Powers scene with the shoe. LOL

And now they're having huge protests in Iraq to let that reporter go.  I wonder what we'd do to someone who did that here? I wonder if some redneck somewhere is planning to throw his shoes at obama.

Oh nomo, this gave me a good giggle. Thank you :D

If I was within shoe-throwing distance of George Bush, I'd probably take a shot (and now the Secret Service will come after me for saying that).

I read in the paper this morning that the Iraqi Prime Minister's guards have beaten the journalist to a pulp and no one knows where he is now - they're trying to get him a lawyer and access to a doctor but haven't been able to yet.

Before we started dating my BF told me threw a shoe at some girl in a bar cuz he didn't like her face.  It bounced off her shoulder and he claimed there was a bug near her and pretended to kill it.  Why she didn't freak and slap him I'll never know.

Also, I remember someone throwing chocolate milk at a Canadian politican a few years ago (was it Harper? or Stockwell Day?)  He got charged with assault.

^ good point!

and there are also those people who throw cream pies at politicians of all levels during public events

can't remember if they have a name for them... other than pie throwers

throwing shoes in the middle east is a BIG insult apparently. it was more than just that he didn't have anything else handy to lob at GW's big empty gourd. he also called him a dog, which i believe is a VERY harsh insult in the middle east as well.

i'll admit though, for a guy whos a little slow on the uptake, GW has got some killer reflexes!

Someone threw a pie at the governor of Ohio about 30 years ago. It was hilarious. He was charged with assault and they made a big deal about how he got some whipped cream in his eye.

That governor deserved a pie in the face!

Original Post by girlfighting27:

...threw a shoe at some girl in a bar cuz he didn't like her face. 

 *tries to figure how this person got a date after revealing this information*

For the OP:

Two points to Bush for good response reflexes, subtract two for not realizing how big of an insult it really was.

And while I feel for the guy and understand some people's anger towards Bush, all he did was come off as an uncontrollable nutcase, and the people supporting him by burning American flags are coming off as violence endorsing radicals.

i just googled the term 'pie throwers' and it appears that this is a more common occurence than one might otherwise suppose

and it's not just politicians that are getting pie'd

authors, pundits and whatever label you'd give to Richard Perle's are getting pie'd too

the perps are charged with assault, battery or assault and battery

http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/554 499 if anyone's interested in what's happening to the journalist since then.

I don't think he came off as an uncontrollable nutcase - I think a lot of people would have done the same.

You're right about the shoe-throwing incident being great fodder for late-night comedians... I watched Craig Ferguson's opening bit last night and L'edMAO.

And while I feel for the guy and understand some people's anger towards Bush, all he did was come off as an uncontrollable nutcase,

Only to those of us from western culture, because we think throwing a shoe at someone is crazy. In a culture where throwing a shoe and calling someone a dog is an ultimate insult, the guy would not be considered a nutcase.

i think that fellow probably expressed an anger and frustration (powerless anger) that a lot of people in that part of the world also feel

but he expressed it inappropriately

not being from that part of the world, i don't know if there IS a situation in which shoe-throwing is appropriate, but I feel sure that during a press conference with the President of the U.S. is not one of those times

however, i don't think he should be beaten up over it (or worse?!) either

i'd take away his press credentials and maybe fine him a hefty fine and give him 200 hours of community service or something

Original Post by vegetariangeek:

I think a lot of people would have done the same. 

 Really?  Hurl objects at the head of a foreign head of state that will only strip you of a respected position in the media, get you arrested, and possibly beaten?  Sure, they gain folk hero status - but what he's going through now is a high price for those 15 minutes.  He had a much more effective and far reaching outlet as a reporter to express dissent than any shoe could deliver, and I doubt he will recover it.

I'm sure he's used his outlet as a reporter to express his dissent in the past, and I hadn't heard of him till now.

I also don't think he was looking at Bush as the president of the United States aka "someone respectable."  In his eyes, this was a man responsible for the destruction of his country.

Original Post by moonikins:

In a culture where throwing a shoe and calling someone a dog is an ultimate insult, the guy would not be considered a nutcase.

 Is it considered common in that culture for a professional reporter to exhibit that behavior towards a foreign head of state during an official press conference?  Had he issued a more, um, "westernized", insult, like "ef you, you effing dog and your xxx of a mother", he would still come off as a nutcase, IMO.

yes, it is hard for us to imagine what it would be like to be an Iraqi

or how we would feel if this country were bombed to smithereens and we'd lost loved ones, etc.

(although I thought he was an Egyptian - maybe I misunderstood)

What is the deal with the rest of the world and shoes? First Kruschev, now nutcase, folk hero, ex journalist man.

Do we think that next, the French will pick their noses at us? Or perhaps fart in our general direction?

Original Post by vegetariangeek:

I also don't think he was looking at Bush as the president of the United States aka "someone respectable."  

Of course he doesn't, and I honestly don't blame him.  And I don't pretend to be able to understand what he and his country have gone through.

But unless they have an unusual exposure to Iraqi media, I don't know if one person's specific knowledge of the guy is an accurate way to judge how many people he has/might have reached in his own country.  I'm pretty sure there are Iraquis who have never heard of Brian Williams.

 Santonacci, I guess he was attending there as a protester, rather than as a "professional journalist."

That's the fun of democracy - the freedom to protest!