Slog Comments
Our Hero
1
he threw his shoe at our president. like him or not. how would you feel if he threw his shoe at obama? i think he'd have a case for doing so.
3
1, Obama did not invent a war, kill thousands and thousands of people, and waste a trillion dollars on a war made up from lies. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.
6
Even if you hate someone, or hate their politics, or feel that an international court should try and judge them for their crimes against humanity (as I absolutely do about GWB), throwing a shoe at a person is childish, inappropriate, and disrespectful.
7
How would *I* feel if some idiot threw his shoes at Obama? I'd probably think it was pretty funny, and I'm a big Obama supporter. Unfortunately, the idiots who hate Obama are more likely to use guns than shoes.
9
The Liberals get all indignant at people expressing their outrage at townhalls but make a hero out of shoe oaf.
10
You guys are a bunch of douchebags. You decry violence only when it's against people you agree with. Throwing shoes at someone is an act of violence. It's a failure to suppress our inner chimpanzee and it's bullshit no matter who the victim is...
12
@Charles: I cannot see this obsession with "cosmopolitanism" as anything more than a facile aestheticization of political philosophy.
13
If Shoe Boy is 'a hero in the Arab world' it speaks volumes about what is wrong with the Arab world.
14
4. Obama is trying to make our country unsafe by trying those who kept us safe for 8 years on these ridiculous "torture" charges!
The bastard who threw his shoes at President Bush should thank him for giving him the freedom to do so.
The bastard who threw his shoes at President Bush should thank him for giving him the freedom to do so.
16
Good Afternoon Charles,
I agree with @1. I am going to part with you and many others on this one big time. I knew you were going to bring it up when I read it in this morning's paper.
The shoe thrower is an asshole pure and simple. He is no hero to me and many others (I believe Pres. Obama would agree with me.). To some, the 9/11 bombers and Abdel Al-Megrahi (the Libyan agent released by Scotland) were/are heroes too. This is just outrageous. I find it odd that you, a pacifist would countenance violence (ever get hit by a shoe? I have, it hurts. Someone threw one at me by accident). This creep, Al-Zeidi could have used his pen (or have asked Bush an uncomfortable question) than have thrown his shoe.
Obama is now expanding the war in Afghanistan. Several drone missiles have killed innocent civilians. Should Pres. Obama visit Kabul and during a news conference, a family member of one of those victims throw a shoe at Obama, would you approve? Al-Zeidi actions are deplorable.
I agree with @1. I am going to part with you and many others on this one big time. I knew you were going to bring it up when I read it in this morning's paper.
The shoe thrower is an asshole pure and simple. He is no hero to me and many others (I believe Pres. Obama would agree with me.). To some, the 9/11 bombers and Abdel Al-Megrahi (the Libyan agent released by Scotland) were/are heroes too. This is just outrageous. I find it odd that you, a pacifist would countenance violence (ever get hit by a shoe? I have, it hurts. Someone threw one at me by accident). This creep, Al-Zeidi could have used his pen (or have asked Bush an uncomfortable question) than have thrown his shoe.
Obama is now expanding the war in Afghanistan. Several drone missiles have killed innocent civilians. Should Pres. Obama visit Kabul and during a news conference, a family member of one of those victims throw a shoe at Obama, would you approve? Al-Zeidi actions are deplorable.
17
The people of Iraq were not liberated. They are now the owners of a broken country where tens of thousands have died for nothing. And violence and death continue. No, the people of Iraq suffer even more today than they did under Saddam. All so Bush could get his revenge. Petty, small man who should never have been president.
18
@16, I approve of the shoe thrower because be brought laughter into the space of power and deception. The 9/11 murderers only brought death to New York City.
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17
If Iraq is broken it is because the Iraqis broke it.
Their country, their choice.
Under Saddam they were brutalized and oppressed.
Perhaps you feel they don't deserve the chance to choose and make their own destiny but I (and Bush) believe all people, regardless of religion or race or geography, deserve that chance.
If Iraq is broken it is because the Iraqis broke it.
Their country, their choice.
Under Saddam they were brutalized and oppressed.
Perhaps you feel they don't deserve the chance to choose and make their own destiny but I (and Bush) believe all people, regardless of religion or race or geography, deserve that chance.
21
"he threw his shoe at our president. like him or not. how would you feel if he threw his shoe at obama?"
Wouldn't care? It's a fucking shoe. For security reasons, he should be kept away from dignitaries in the future (even though I don't see him as a specific threat) but I don't see any hypocrisy here.
"If Iraq is broken it is because the Iraqis broke it.
Their country, their choice."
No, it's because you neocon idiots lack the ability to solve anything outside the scope of military activity, and even that's a halfassed job that amounts to brute force and very little strategy. If we had anything other than the MASSIVE amount of weaponry we have compared to the rest of the world, we'd likely lose every conflict we engage in.
Wouldn't care? It's a fucking shoe. For security reasons, he should be kept away from dignitaries in the future (even though I don't see him as a specific threat) but I don't see any hypocrisy here.
"If Iraq is broken it is because the Iraqis broke it.
Their country, their choice."
No, it's because you neocon idiots lack the ability to solve anything outside the scope of military activity, and even that's a halfassed job that amounts to brute force and very little strategy. If we had anything other than the MASSIVE amount of weaponry we have compared to the rest of the world, we'd likely lose every conflict we engage in.
22
Charles,
Thanks for reading what I wrote. I still disagree. However, it's good that you called the 9/11 perpetrators what they genuinely were ...murderers. Even though, they believed themselves to be warriors, they should be heroes to none.
Thanks for reading what I wrote. I still disagree. However, it's good that you called the 9/11 perpetrators what they genuinely were ...murderers. Even though, they believed themselves to be warriors, they should be heroes to none.
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21
Iraq is broken because, once freed from the oppression of Saddam, rather than building a peaceful prosperous society they chose to rip themselves apart in murderous violence.
We gave them an opportunity.
They shit it away.
Time to come home.
Iraq is broken because, once freed from the oppression of Saddam, rather than building a peaceful prosperous society they chose to rip themselves apart in murderous violence.
We gave them an opportunity.
They shit it away.
Time to come home.
25
Charles, your assessment of President Bush's lawlessness is both accurate and moral. I will never give up on the hope of seeing the former President arraigned before a war crimes tribunal.
That said, I am unwilling to justify battery in the interest of a benefit as vague as "bringing laughter into the space of power". The proper answer to lawlessness is the imposition of law.
And an aside: in the course of an interaction that I trust will be very long and mutually instructive, I swear, I am going to persuade you not only to discard formulations like "the space of power", but to instinctively distrust such language.
Just a heads up.
Cheers,
Quintus
That said, I am unwilling to justify battery in the interest of a benefit as vague as "bringing laughter into the space of power". The proper answer to lawlessness is the imposition of law.
And an aside: in the course of an interaction that I trust will be very long and mutually instructive, I swear, I am going to persuade you not only to discard formulations like "the space of power", but to instinctively distrust such language.
Just a heads up.
Cheers,
Quintus
26
Say "YES" to War on Iraq
Liberals Against Liberation
by Dan Savage
"War may be bad for children and other living things, but there are times when peace is worse for children and other living things, and this is one of those times. "
"In the meantime, invading and rebuilding Iraq will not only free the Iraqi people, it will also make the Saudis aware of the consequences they face if they continue to oppress their own people while exporting terrorism and terrorists. The War on Iraq will make it clear to our friends and enemies in the Middle East (and elsewhere) that we mean business: Free your people, reform your societies, liberalize, and democratize... or we're going to come over there, remove you from power, free your people, and reform your societies for ourselves. "
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/say-y…
Liberals Against Liberation
by Dan Savage
"War may be bad for children and other living things, but there are times when peace is worse for children and other living things, and this is one of those times. "
"In the meantime, invading and rebuilding Iraq will not only free the Iraqi people, it will also make the Saudis aware of the consequences they face if they continue to oppress their own people while exporting terrorism and terrorists. The War on Iraq will make it clear to our friends and enemies in the Middle East (and elsewhere) that we mean business: Free your people, reform your societies, liberalize, and democratize... or we're going to come over there, remove you from power, free your people, and reform your societies for ourselves. "
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/say-y…
27
@lark
"This creep, Al-Zeidi could have used his pen (or have asked Bush an uncomfortable question) than have thrown his shoe."
Many did ask him an uncomfortable question, but you wouldn't talk about it. You wouldn't think about it. It wouldn't get played upon your preferred network. Bless this man for coming up with a way to get you to comment. Thanks for commenting.
"Disrespectful"??? Ugh.
"This creep, Al-Zeidi could have used his pen (or have asked Bush an uncomfortable question) than have thrown his shoe."
Many did ask him an uncomfortable question, but you wouldn't talk about it. You wouldn't think about it. It wouldn't get played upon your preferred network. Bless this man for coming up with a way to get you to comment. Thanks for commenting.
"Disrespectful"??? Ugh.
28
Definitely a hero.
I wish I didn't have such big feet, or I'd buy a pair (althoughI prefer flip-flops over shoes...):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7…
http://www.baydanshoes.com/?home
It looks like their biggest size is 45....
I wish I didn't have such big feet, or I'd buy a pair (althoughI prefer flip-flops over shoes...):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7…
http://www.baydanshoes.com/?home
It looks like their biggest size is 45....
30
Some of the comments on here reveal the essence of conservatism: blame the victim and identify with the powerful. Iraq is to blame for a war the United States started and Bush is a victim of some guy with a shoe. The conservative base are the house negroes of American politics.
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