Foot-age

u cannot shoe it away anymore. throwing a shoe as a form of protest has dug its heels in. it all started with the former american president bush and the recent victim was the former australian premier kevin rudd. in between of course our own minister chidambaram faced it. the rash of these incidents is keeping the policemen on their toes. u cannot insist on people coming barefoot as it violates a cultural code of conduct - we cannot imagine to stand on our feet without them.

It will soon become fashion. if one is not thrown at you, your stock goes down that much. in fact u can sponsor it - as they do garlands - and pardon your foot soldiers to gain mileage or rather "foot" age. if it is lotto or some branded one, your stock goes up that much. though u would foot the bill, u should not pay him upfront lest he should take to his heels with the money. but train him enough so that it only passes by but actually does not hit u. in any case u better give him new ones so that even if it hits u won't lose your face! if it someoneelse's the disgrace is worse after all.
but not even a minute should u think that the other man will reboot his policies. while some people thickskinned as they are will say - my foot (i beg your pardon) and go ahead their unabashed ways, some others will be put on their backfoot only for sometime. they may in fact dismiss u a "loafer". whatever it is, the footrule is not to get slippered.
On the brighter side, this shows that the economy is not in recession - that they are not on shoe-string budget and can afford to throw them away!
not all are caught on flat foot when a shoe is thrown at them. Take the example of Madan Mohan Malaviya. when he wanted to start the Benares Hindu University, he approached the Nizam of hyderabad (then reputedly the richest man in the world). an incensed nizam threw a shoe at him. instead of taking offence, he cashed on it as history would tell us.
The City of Marikina is known as the Shoe Capital of the Philippines. no wonder its former First Lady imelda marcos fell head over heels over footwear. she gave a freekick to those who criticised her for indulging on foot fetish amid stinking poverty.
not all people buy shoes to wear them. ask those regions in china. the moment a model is released - lotto or vuitton or some such thing - they buy them only to rip it off, take a close look and prodcue lookalikes!!
well i have dragged my feet enough on this issue. before my readers become "slippery". let me post this.