Middle Easterners
Must Reject 'Barefoot Journalism!'
"Considering his behavior, at
this stage of his life the angry reporter likely doesn't qualify as a
journalist. The best thing he can do is apologize to the American people for insulting
their president and enroll in anger management classes."
On December 14, 2008,
President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki held a press conference in Baghdad. One
at a time, during the briefing, an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at the
American president. Interestingly, Mr. Bush moved quickly and dodged the shoes,
so neither struck him. He is apparently very physically fit, and may well have
had extensive experience playing dodge ball. Most likely, dodging shoes will
now become the favored game of children who watch Al-Jazeera. I wonder whether,
if the angry man had thrown his shoes at his own leaders who had welcomed Mr.
Bush, Prime Minister Maliki or President Talibani
would have been fit enough to avoid being hit. Probably not.
No one claims that President
Bush is flawless or that he shouldn't be criticized. In fact, almost every
American reporter and even people from his own party rightfully criticize him on a regular basis. But compared to Saddam -
the man the U.S. leader removed from power - President Bush is a saint.
President Bush didn't feel insulted and even made a joke of the size of the
thrown shoes, which may be regarded as an indication of his mental fitness . What if the
angry man had thrown his shoes at Saddam; would he or any of his family members
be alive today? Probably not.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Although I'm not an Iraqi but
a Kurd, I felt embarrassed over the angry reporter's behavior. For decades
Kurds and Iraqis have fought for freedom of speech and the press. If a
journalist cannot respect his own profession and violates the rules of a free
press, how can the world trust our region to become free? As Middle Easterners,
we're already labeled as backward for being barefoot and taking our
shoes off at home, the mosque, beaches and deserts. The last thing we need is to
have our reporters labeled "barefoot
journalists" and denied access to press conferences where shoes are part
of appropriate attire and good manners! In fact, we must reject barefoot
journalism.
CHAOS AS PRESIDENT BUSH ATTACKED
WITH SHOES
Considering
his behavior, at this stage of his life the angry reporter likely doesn't
qualify as a journalist. The best thing he can do is apologize to the American
people for insulting their president and enroll in anger management classes.
Once he has recovered, he might return to his profession and politely ask the
[former] American president when we will be truly free?
[LATEST NEWSWIRE PHOTOS: Shoes that made history].
