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Date:
Tue, 16 December 2008 11:34 WesternIndonesiaTime
Subject:
Bush Iraq Shoe Incident, A Matter Of Cultural Habit
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Video frame grab of U.S. President George W. Bush (L) ducking from
a shoe during a news conference in Baghdad December 14, 2008. The Iraqi
journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush in a
supreme insult has suddenly become the talk of Iraq.
REUTERS/Reuters TV
Mon Dec 15, 5:53 AM ET
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Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki tries to block US President George
W. Bush after an Iraqi man threw his shoes at Bush during a joint press
conference. An Iraqi television station on Monday demanded the immediate
release of one of its journalists who caused a furore when he hurled shoes at Bush.
(AFP/Saul Loeb)
Mon Dec 15, 3:02 AM ET
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U.S. President George W. Bush (L) meets with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani at
Salam Palace in Baghdad. Bush said during a surprise farewell visit to Baghdad on
Sunday that the war in Iraq was "not over" but on its way to be won.
(AFP/Pool/Mohammed Jalil)
Sun Dec 14, 5:52 PM ET
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A shoe is raised during a protest against the visit to Iraq of US President George W.
Bush, in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday. Dec. 15, 2008.
Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during
a press conference in Baghdad on Sunday, while yelling in Arabic: 'This is a farewell
kiss, you dog, this is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.'
(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
Mon Dec 15, 7:12 AM ET |
Obviously it was a stunning moment for me when I saw the video of
President Bush thrown by a shoe twice, during a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, 14 December 2008.
It was followed by the demonstration on the street with a shoe being a new idol, "long lives the shoe….."
Most of all, it was more a matter of cultural habit, I think.
In Iraq, it is considered a humiliation when a shoe gets close to
someone’s head. While in the U.S., it is not unusual when someone has a conversation by sitting
in a chair with legs stretching to the top of the table, with his feet wearing shoes perching on top of the table.
It is not considered as humiliation; instead it is reflecting the freedom, democracy.
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