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If the Shoe Fits, Fling It by R J Evans, Dec 20, 2008 There is currently a certainvogue for shoe flinging - where the rest of the world learned exactlywhat it means in one place. But what does it mean to the Western World?An inquiring mind investigates.

Image Credit Shoeshave been in the news a lot recently - or rather the use of shoes as aform of projectile. Many have some sympathy with the brave but possiblyfoolhardy Muntadhar al-Zaidi who dispensed with protocol and his shoesat a Press Conference involving a certain (and surprising agile, forshame!) leader of the Western World. Some wounds will take a long timeto 'heel'. Image Credit However, while in the Middle East the tossing of a shoe is an insult of the highest magnitude, in the West the flinging of footwearis an altogether more casual pastime - at least in terms of its how andwhere and why it happens. So, is there a sole intention in the west oris this whole article an excuse for the author to make appalling playson words about shoes? Image Credit Observedin many countries, shoe tossing is the act of getting a pair of shoes,laces tied, to dangle gracefully (or otherwise, aesthetics are notconsidered uppermost) on power lines, telephone line - in fact, any extended line which goes from one point to another. Image Credit Alsoknown as shoefiti (get it?) this practice has made its way in to youthfolklore, particularly in the US and Canada. This phenomenon has alsobeen spotted in places far away, from Sweden to Israel and even down asfar as South Africa. It is thought that the occurrence of the activity(dare it be named a sport and put up for the 2012 Olympics?) in thesefar flung places has spread because of their appearance in Hollywoodmovies such as Maid in Manhattan and Big Fish. Who can say? Image Credit Then there is the art of the shoe tree - the above, an exemplary example from California - but more about them later! Image Credit Meanwhilewe can ponder - to infinity and possibly beyond - the shoefitiHollywood connections there is an even greater question that demands ananswer. Is shoefiti an art, a sport or a combination of the two? Couldwe possibly mix and mingle the two words and come up with a new one -could shoefiti and their cousin shoe trees possibly be classified as a'spart'? Image Credit Wikipediadefines art as "the process or product of deliberately and creativelyarranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions." Itcould be argued that the proponents of shoefiti do exactly that.Possibly. Where the argument might fall down is the Wikipediadefinition of sport, which insists that it is an "activity that isgoverned by a set of rules or customs and often engaged incompetitively. Image Credit Couldthe fact that the laces are always tied and the shoes flung in thestyle of bolas be construed as a set of rules? Over to you, ladies andgentlemen of the Olympic Committee. We won't hold our breath! Certainlyin New Zealand and parts of Eastern Europe shoe throwing is already asport which has its own world championships. It took a while forsynchronized swimming to be taken seriously so perhaps the ‘spart' of shoefiti should not be dismissed out of hand! Image Credit Image Credit Whilethe reasons behind shoe trees are elusive, some people hold thatshoefiti is created to indicate that someone has recently passed away.Their shoes are suspended from up on high so they may collect them ontheir way heavenward. Optimistic about the final destination of thesesouls, mourning relatives fling the shoes up and away. Image Source Amore sinister explanation is that a piece of shoefiti indicates thenear locality of a crack den or is an In Memoriam for a fallen gangmember. That this practice takes place in a lot of rural areas wherethere is something of a shortfall of gangs and crack houses leads manyto suspect that there is more than a little of urban mythology going onhere! Plus, would there really be a crack den near to the St Vincent dePaul Society? Hush! Image Source To complicate things further there is a further branch of the marriageof sport and art in connection with footwear. That is the burgeoninghappenstance of the shoe tree. Although they cannot be construed in anyway as a farewell kiss to a certain President Bush from the Americanpeople there are over one hundred examples of this strange art form inthe United States alone. Image Credit You may think you know all that needs to be known about shoe trees, in fact man of you may have one at home.However, the new shoe tree is not that neat device that you use topreserve your shoes domestically. It is a form of spontaneous art thatsprings up usually around busy roads. Who starts the shoe tree'sevolution is anyone's guess but there is certainly little evidence ofintelligent design in the form! Image Credit Perhapsa drunken youth or passing vagrant was the originator of the tree. Wemay never know. What is not in doubt, however, is that once a treereceives its christening shoes (as it were) then people from far andnear develop a compulsion to discard their own shoes (one must assumeunwanted and old) with a shoulder fling and a grunt and add to the work in development themselves. Image Credit The idea has even been taken by real artists to make real art. Image Credit Withouta doubt, as a form of public art (formal or informal!), shoe trees haveone advantage. It would take special equipment to get the shoes downfrom their new found lofty heights and this leads to an inclination onthe part of local authorities to leave the thing alone until it hastaken on a life of its own and has become a local landmark. Image Credit Whetherit is locally appreciated, again, must be left to those who live there.Of course, if you can't take the shoes to the tree, why not take thetrees to the shoes?