The Irony of an Insult

The big news in the last few days has been about the Iraqi "journalist" who threw his shoes at a President Bush while he was giving a press conference recently on his trip to Baghdad. The man, who I won't dignify by naming him, stood up, and while yelling at The President, took off one shoe and then the other and hurled them one at a time at The President nearly hitting him. He was then quickly (although not quickly enough as far as I'm concerned) tackled by security and summarily removed from the room. Although it appears The President was not in any danger (other than getting smacked in the face with a size 10 shoe) this is still a major security incident and an outright slap in the face to Mr Bush.

In the Arab world when you REALLY want to insult someone you tell them they are lower than the dirt you are walking on and the way you do that is by throwing your shoes at them. You'll recall the news footage of the Iraqi's hitting the large bronze statue of Saddam with their shoes in the face once it was toppled. This is indeed a very serious insult.

Obviously in the mind of this Iraqi journalist, President Bush is deserving of this kind of public scorn and humiliation for what he perceives has been done to his country. However, it strikes me as ironic that this man felt he had the freedom to commit this act. You see, he was able to perpetrate this very act because he now has the freedom to do so. If he had hurled his shoes, let alone a verbal insult, at Saddam Hussein he would have been executed, his house would have been bulldozed and they would be playing soccer in the streets with his head!!! It's ironic that the very person who is mainly responsible for this man's new found freedom and liberty, President Bush, would also be the target of his scorn. President Bush for his credit acknowledged that "this is what happens in free societies". He is a class act through and through and I believe that history will treat his legacy well.

As for that Iraqi journalist? Well, let's just say that when it comes to your freedom, America says "You're welcome" and leave it at that.