Thanks for the shoes, and you're welcome for the freedom.

With the recent news about the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush in Iraq, we've seen the wingnutosphere spinning out of control to turn this story into pompous propaganda about freedom.  And along with the President's reaction, one might assume that this is indeed no big deal and that the Bush Administration along with conservative media voices are proud that this frustrated journalist was able to express himself in such a meaningful way without fear of being destroyed by the tyranny of Saddam.  

Here are a few examples:

America's Right

Gateway Pundit 

As usual, Jeff at America's Right at least does some justice to the story; he adds a relevant movie quote for a dash of humor, briefly touches on the fact that this was an expression of frustration and even seems compassionate that one could feel that way...on the other hand, that blathering idiot over at Gateway Pundit continues to pound the keyboard in spittle-flying-from-the-lips blind rage, completely ignoring the underlying message.  It's mostly the same righteous indignation and typical ignorance you've come to expect from this jackass.  He refuses to even acknowledge the severity of the insult.  In the muslim world, showing someone the bottom of your shoe is an extreme insult, as is calling them a "dog" - this journalist did both.  Of course Gateway Pundit (and George Bush) are oblivious to the meaning behind this act.  Bush dismisses it entirely by joking about it and says it doesn't bother him.  If a man with any compassion had been shown the greatest insult imaginable by someone who has been directly impacted by that man's own actions and influence, a man with compassion would reflect on that insult and what it really says.  No, Bush brushes it off, and right-wing bloggers praise the war (which we have/haven't won depending on the day and who you hear it from) and the freedom it has given those Iraqis to express themselves without fear of tyrannic oppression.  

I appreciate that because of the war in Iraq and the removal of Saddam that these people enjoy greater freedoms than they have had before.  That point is not lost on me.  However you can't simply ignore the meaning of the message for the fact that this person was able to make his statement.  You can't have one without the other.  And it's not like the guy was throwing shoes at his own leaders, which surely would be much more harshly dealt with...I can only imagine the kind of tackling you'd get if you threw a shoe at Bush at a press conference in the US...but no, he threw it at a foreign leader who has caused great distress in his country.   

I'm pretty sure the message was not "Thanks for the freedom and many reasons to hate your president".