Shoe-throwing is a dramatic but futile gesture. Sadly, it's all that we've got, writes Gary Younge in his US Diary
It’s taken a while for the American left to find a way of expressing solidarity with the Iraqi resistance in a manner that captures the popular imagination. But almost seven years after the invasion, they finally found a common language as Stephen Millies rose to address a public hearing of New York’s Metropolitan Transport Authority.
Millies, a member of the Bail Out the People Campaign, was protesting against a 23% fare hike and reduced services in response to budget shortfalls triggered by the financial crisis. "We don’t need any fare increases and we don’t need our transit system ravaged either," he told the board and called for the subway and bus fare to be reduced to $1 (half what it is today), to help the unemployed.
Then he asked for the MTA’s chief executive, sitting about 5 metres away, by name. "Where is Elliot Sander?" he said. He stooped, slipped off one of his shoes and shouted, "You made $300,000 last year." Police officers pushed him out of the room, as he shouted "this shoe is for you", clutching his black, thick-soled oxford.
Millies said that he never had any intention of throwing his shoe. "I wanted to show the sole of the shoe as a sign of contempt for someone who makes so much money and yet wants to raise fares on the disabled. I was very much inspired by that courageous Iraqi journalist."
Millies is not alone. The action of Iraqi journalist Muntazar al-Zaidi, who flung his shoes at George Bush during a final press conference in Iraq, has created admirers and imitators across the globe.
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