I admit it. I did not want to give in to the temptation of writing about the well documented event that has taken the internet-and the world- by the storm. But I was provoked by the sense of irony and hint of prevailing justice in the incident itself, and so here I am, evoking my thoughts about Mr. Muntadar al-Zeidi, his two shoes and of course, the agility of Mr. Bush.


Although al-Zeidi's act sees him looking down the barrel for a seven year long imprisonment for 'offending a foreign head of state' as well as being catapulted to one of the most famous man in the internet, I would like to draw attention to the rationale any sane man might have -to do what he has done. It is certain that he is no terrorist and his act of defiance was clearly due to his bereavement -lets face it: Iraq was invaded, thousands of civilians did pay the price in the crucible of war, and worst of all -it is not over yet. The 'peace' that was the sole aim of the invading state never materialized. Mr. Zeidi himself had been previously kidnapped by the militants and God only knows what manner of interrogation he had to face there. All this clearly can lead to any man to his breaking point -especially if the person responsible for so much devastation claims success in front of him!

No, do not misunderstand my sympathy for al-Zeidi as acceptance of his act. Whatever may be the cause, he has broken the behaviour and conduct accepted all over the world. But, I dare say that to stop such happenstance repeating itself, Mr. Bush, his fellow campaigners, planners and plotters -needs to dive deeper and understand what brough this on to this head. A guy throwing his shoes at the president of the United states -is revolting as a clear breach of sensible decorum. But, when the incident becomes an internet craze -with games, webgames, comedy pics and what not, even in the United states itself -then I can't help feeling that these follow up reactions to the incident showcases the frustration of freedom loving, free-speaking people all over the world -and the pair of shoes were just the spark needed to blast it off.

As for the fit Mr. Bush, who managed to dodge the shoes with unbelievable agility (was he expecting this anyway? :p) -I believe that the parting gift he has received from Iraq on his end of term demonstrated what he has achieved.