Bush Dodges Flying Shoes

[hinas23]

Brian Duffy, Iowa


On Dec. 15, in Baghdad, Former US President George Bush decided to pay a surprise visit to Iraq where the visit had been overshadowed by an incident in which two shoes were thrown at Bush during a news conference. Outside of the press room in this cartoon, there is a sign mocking the event that took place. The board says, " Please remove shoes before ENTERING." You can see former President Bush in the background looking worried as he had just avoided an "attack" at a conference.

This cartoon was made merely to mock the "shoe flying" event that just took place in Baghdad on Dec. 15. An Iraqi journalist, not afraid to express himself, got up during the news conference and throw two of his shoes at Former President Bush. While throwing the first shoe the journalist said, "This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!" He then threw a shoe at Bush, who ducked and narrowly avoided it. As stunned as the security agents and guards, officials and journalists all watched, Zaidi - the Iraqi Journalist - then threw his other shoe, shouting in Arabic, "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!" By taking this action, Zaidi was able to express his hate for President Bush. He not only expressed his feelings, but he intended on speaking on behalf of the Iraqi all harmed by the US. This event became symbolic as throwing a shoe at someone is a sign of much disrespect. By doing so, Zaidi was able to insult the President even though he knew he was going to suffer afterwards. It takes a lot of courage to get up and throw a shoe in public at an official speaker, like the President. Many Iraqi people acknowledge his attempt to express his feelings. Most of them want Bush to take all his troops and leave for good. Bush has only created problems and inflicted pain on the Iraqi citizens. When Bush was called "a dog," you can tell how unwanted he is because of his "dog-like actions." This political cartoon showed us how now even shoes are found to be a threat in a news conference. By mocking the "please remove shoes before entering" sign, the cartoonist explained how the President felt insulted as a "shoe" was thrown at him. After all his wrong decisions and actions, I understand why so many people feel that he has no right to stand in front of them and offer a security agreement for the countries.

[alyssaostroff]

Hina, what an excellent analysis! You are definitely a scholar! I particularly found it effective when you gave the background information of the cultural meaning of a thrown shoe. I do remember reading that somewhere... ;D The cartoon you chose definitely expresses the mockery of this event. I understand where Zaidi was coming from especially after your last sentence: "After all [of Bush's] wrong decisions and actions, I understand why so many people feel that he has no right to stand in front of them and offer a security agreement for the countries." It certainly is a contradiction, isn't it? President Bush will soon be out of office and hopefully President-Elect Barack Obama will be able to patch up U.S. relations with the Middle East. The fact that the American public is so amused by this blatant disregard for U.S. actions is a major concern. We are a hated country in that region of the world. We shouldn’t have been over in Iraq in the first place when there was no discovery of “weapons of mass destruction.” This war is just an excuse to inflict others with our imperialist ideals. Bush represents Americans, and so we are hated, too. We shouldn’t be over there, but throwing shoes is still an extreme disrespect for our country. While Zaidi’s message was heard, it was still rude, and while it may be well deserved, it was uncalled for, despite the pleasure Americans felt by this act. Many Americans probably wouldn’t mind throwing shoes themselves. But with an approval rating so low, what do we expect? Again, excellent job. You have outdone yourself!

[Mr. Wells]

Description: 10

Interpretation: 10

Knowledge of Topic: 10

Argument: 2 None evident - 2nd paragraph was only the interpretation of the cartoon, not an argument (except in last sentence, a bit)

Reply to Classmate: 10

42/50