OFFICIAL RELEASE: Peace Activists Take Shoes to White House in Solidarity with Shoe-Throwing Iraqi Journalist
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT
Jean Stevens, CODEPINK media coordinator, 646-723-1781
Call for his release and tribute to Iraqis who have suffered under US occupation
WHAT: Peace activists to gather with shoes in solidarity to Iraqi journalist
WHEN: 11 a.m., Weds. Dec. 17
WHERE: In front of White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In solidarity with an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George W. Bush at a Baghdad press conference Sunday, peace activists will gather outside the White House with bags of shoes representing Iraqis and U.S. soldiers who have died since the Bush Administration’s illegal invasion of Iraq.
They aim to show support for Iraqi journalist Muntader al-Zaidi, who hurled his shoes at President Bush while he spoke at the conference on his “surprise” visit to discuss the war. Al-Zaidi is currently being held by Iraqi police and questioned on his actions. The peace activists are calling on the Iraqi government to release al-Zaidi without charges and have set up a fund to support him and his family.”
“It’s outrageous that al-Zaidi could get two years in prison for insulting George Bush, when Bush is directly responsible for the deaths of 1.5 million Iraqis and 4,200 U.S. troops, and 5 million displaced Iraqis,” says Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK. “The one who should be in jail is George Bush, and he should be charged with war crimes.”
The gesture of throwing shoes is considered a major insult in Arabic culture.
“Al-Zaidi’s act of civil disobedience expresses the disgust that so many Iraqis and Americans feel towards a man who has caused so much pain and suffering,” says Anas Shallal of Iraqi Voices for Peace. “It is indeed a fitting tribute to the end of the Bush reign of terror.”
U.S. veterans who served in Iraq will also participate in the shoe action at the White House.
“Having one shoe thrown at George Bush pales in comparison to the suffering that veterans and Iraqis go through everyday,” says Geoffrey Milliard of Iraq Veterans Against the War. “Perhaps if Bush can see some more of these shoes before he leaves office, he will feel some of our pain.”
CODEPINK, founded in 2002, is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the war in Iraq, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into health care, education and other life-affirming activities. With an emphasis on joy and humor, CODEPINK women and men seek to activate, amplify and inspire a community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to non-violence. For more info, visit www.codepinkalert.org.
Tags: DC, Iraq War, White House
December 15th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Brilliant idea!
December 15th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Diggit! You guys are my heroes. Thank you for your great, brave and inspired work. I knew you’d be the ones to do this. A fitting end to this awful era of these awful neocon subhumans.
I just wish I could join you.
cheers!
December 16th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
This shoe-in is a great idea, many I talk to here are enjoying the thought of it.
I think this can become the Bush legacy, and should be used to appeal for Bush to either end his smug arrogance, or have it smothered in the peoples shoes.
I can envision shoe drives across the nation, truckloads of shoes, more then enough to bury all of the neocons ego’s responsible for our nations; world tragedy.
Lay them at the feet of any of our leaders who still adhere to victimizing others in our name.
Perhaps a fitting name for this shoe drive would be, “Soles for Bush”
In solidarity,
Bob Johnson
December 17th, 2008 at 2:16 am
Thanks for taking shoes-in-hand.
On Monday, I sent a similar proposal to Leah Garchik at the San Francisco Chronicle — along with some “One-liners for Shoe-Tossers.”
Here’s the note:
Hi all,
Happy Holidays, Seasons Greenings and, in honor of the Glorious Bush Legacy, here’s a flurry of flying-shoe one-liners:
• Bush wasn’t surprised that Iraqis were throwing shoes at him. After all, his fellow Americans had already given him the boot.
• A perfect illustration of the erosion of the office of the Presidency under George W. Bush — from “Leader of the Free World” to “Whack-a-Mole.”
• Bush was just lucky that journalist was not a shoe-bomber.
• Leads me to wonder if all future Bush appearances will required “airport security” — everyone surrenders their shoes to the Secret Service.
• Did you notice in the freeze-frames published in the Chron, while Bush was ducking for cover, Nouri al-Maliki continued to stand tall and unflapped at his podium?
• Don’t you just know that, if it had been Bush Sr. at the lectern, Poppy would have stood up straight, snatched the incoming shoe in his bare hands, and fired them back at the attacker.
• What do you call this cultural clash of civilization: The Collision of Loafers?
I have to admit, that reporter is one of my new heroes. (It might have been different had one of his flying shoes drawn blood.)
I have an idea for a viral flash-mob event:
Are you planning to visit Washington, DC? If so, take a spare set of shoes.
Stroll down Pennsylvania Avenue and throw those shoes over the White House fence.
Why toss your tennies over a utility line when you can turn that toss into a resounding political statement?
Hear my cry, O Fellow Americans: Declare your solidarity with the shoe-slingers of the world! Toss your flip-flops on W’s lawn!
Thanks for making this pitch a reality. And pitch a shoe over the fence for me!
Gar Smith