Catastrophes and Judgments.

More often than not, our sympathy takes us away to the extent when a Saudi offers to pay ten million dollars for the pair of shoes that made history when it was thrown at the American President George Bush by journalist Muntadhar al Zaidi at the press conference held in Baghdad; when the daughter of Libyan president Muaamar al Ghadafi suggests, according to the “Herald Tribune,” granting the Iraqi journalist the “Courage Award” or that al Zaidi is considered by many a national hero and his shoes turn out to be the weapons of mass destruction Bush were searching for in Iraq and finally found, yet face to face !

Considerably, this can easily be attributed to the image the Arabs had of Bush who is also deemed by his own people and media as the worst American president ever, at least during the twentieth century. However, this should be an exception. Any journalist does not attend conferences of heads of states and senior officials to shower them with shoes and curses, but rather to ask them whatever relevant questions and to express the opinions and points of view of the masses, no matter how stern they might be. That is because a journalist, who represents a profession armed with opinion, can access the doors inaccessible to others, and if they turned to be thugs, using means apart from their mouth and pen, they shall be exposing themselves and their profession as well to great danger.

That is what I am saying while bearing hatred and grudges against Bush’s policies that have thrust our region into a vicious circle. But at the same time, I am all fearful of all the potential restrictions and obstacles imposed upon her majesty: journalism. Bear in mind the behavior of a passenger on one airplane who hid a weapon in his shoes, something that obliged millions of other passengers to take off their shoes before approaching the vehicle.

Notably, Bush belittled and ridiculed the incident, probably because the Americans’ look at shoes differently from us, as they can raise it in the face of their speakers without feeling the least bit insulted, unlike us, the Arabs. But who can tell that this might not be the attitude of security officials, too?