The world wide eruption of support for shoe-throwing Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi continues. Demonstrations throughout the Middle East. All kinds of statements of support on the Web. And just a few moments ago, bedlam in the Iraqi parliament over whether al-Zaidi, who is still in custody and was clearly injured during his arrest, should be formally charged.
Al Jazeera reports that during the chaos in the Iraqi parliament, one member, Mahmoud Othman, said it had been argued that keeping an Iraqi journalist in jail while debating immunity for foreign forces in Iraq was unjust.
Here here.
Showing your support for al-Zaidi is both an effective way to show your rejection of George Bush and his crazy wars, and, more immediately, a way to show your support for Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an international hero who faces an extremely uncertain fate.
I have created a Flickr group called Throw My Shoes Too!, where you can post a photo of yourself and your shoes, and add a comment of support for al-Zaidi. I urge you to consider adding your voice -- and photo -- to this effort.
If you are not a Flickr member and don't want to be bothered with creating an account, just send me your photo in an email and I will post it for you. Send your photo here: showed48full@photos.flickr.com
If you want to title your pic, put the title in thee subject line.If you want to add comments, put them in the body of the text.
This is not a joke. This is a statement of support for a man who is in a very very difficult position, and to whom we owe a debt of gratitude.
This is hardly the only Web-based effort regarding the infamous shoes. There are numerous discussions of sending shoes to the White House. There is a Muntadhar al-Zaidi fan club on Facebook.
And there are a number of online games where you can click and throw a shoe at Bush yourself.
http://flash.vg.no/grafikk/2008/bush/kast_sko.htmlhttp://play.sockandawe.com/http://bushbash.flashgressive.de/
All of this is wonderful. The more the merrier. But here is why I like the idea of the photos of you and your shoes:
- The point is to make a public display of support for Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who is in a very difficult situation. If you send your shoes to the White House, no one will know how many shoes were sent.
- The photos can provide an immediate visual indicator of the breadth and diversity of support for the shoe thrower, which will be much more meaningful that, say, the indicator of the number of people who have played a game.
So please, support as many of these efforts as you can. But do send us a photo of your shoes!
