He threw shoes, let's kill him!

We all saw this one, right? The one where the foreign reporter threw his shoes at Bush's head?

While I don't condone throwing stuff at the President's head, do we really need to beat the shit out of this poor guy to teach him a lesson? If I were suddenly face to face with Bush, I'm not sure I'd be able to keep my shoes on either. It was a moment of bad judgment. No one got hurt. Bush even (sort of) joked around after the incident.

But let's think about this. Imagine a few Americans decide to attack an Iraqi landmark. 3000 people are killed because of the actions of these few. So Saddam Hussein decides to punish America. Rather than seeking out those few Americans, he begins a war with our country. This war lasts 5 years (or more), thousands are killed, families are torn apart (perhaps even yours). You're just a journalist. You've watched your entire country undergo siege after siege, and now this ass named Hussein has a press conference and you find yourself having to cover this event. The rage of this injustice bubbles up inside you, and you kinda-sorta-accidentally take it out by throwing a shoe. Unfortunately, you miss. Now, if you survive your injuries, you face up to two years in prison.

That's what this guy went through. I say slap him on the wrist and let's be done with it.

"This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog."
-Dargham al-Zaidi

I feel you Dargham.