Shoe Attack A Fitting Curtain Call For End Of Bush’s Failed Presidency
Filed Under Curtain Rods | Posted on December 22, 2008
Ethologist Desmond Morris writes in his book, “Manwatching,” that humans possess a much broader range of ways to express contempt than any other animal. Among these behavior patterns, spitting and pinching one’s nose are signs that one considers the other party filthy. And filth, explains Morris, suggests vulgarity and indecency.
Shoes an Iraqi journalist hurled at U.S. President George W. Bush were also used to convey filth. Being hit by a pair of shoes is considered the ultimate insult in Iraq, since it implies that one is even more unsanitary and repulsive than shoes dirtied from treading on the ground, a U.S. newspaper says.
In addition to contempt, the journalist expressed rage when he shouted, “This is from the widows, the orphans, and those who were killed in Iraq!” as he threw the second shoe. The entire world is likely to remember the scene as a symbol of the Bush presidency’s curtain fall.
One need not go all the way to Iraq to witness Bush’s plummeting authority. In an Internet survey taken by American historians, 98 percent said they consider the Bush presidency a failure, and 61 percent declared Bush the worst president in U.S. history. In a public opinion poll, 58 percent said they see Bush as below average, the worst assessment given to a president among the four recent leaders, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton, and “W” himself.
Tags: american historians, behavior patterns, bush presidency, contempt, curtain call, curtain fall, desmond morris, entire world, ethologist, george bush, george bush sr, george w bush, indecency, internet survey, orphans, president george w bush, public opinion poll, ronald reagan, vulgarity, widowsRelated posts
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