SHOE-D WE OR SHOE-D NOT WE?

Somewhere around noon today, India became the newest member of a very select group of nations whose public figures have been on the receiving end of shoe-throwing incidents.
For all those of who who missed the action, here are the bare facts condensed in a single sentence (the video is there too at the end of the post). At a press conference in Delhi, Dainik Jagran journalist, Jarnail Singh threw his shoe at the Home Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram in protest against the latter's refusal to answer questions relating to the CBI's role in the Jagdish Tytler case.
Technically though, the attempt cannot be described as a throw; it was more of a gentle underarm lob. But it did threaten to almost make contact with the honourable minister's face (which, I am pretty sure, was definitely not what the valiant Sikh wanted). For a very brief period during the white shoe's graceful trajectory, P. Chidambaram must have had strange but delightful visions of flying idlis heading towards him. But the realization of the embarrassment that might result if the missile found its target brought him to his senses. And in a surprising display of agility hitherto unseen in an elderly Indian politician, Mr. Chidambaram deftly evaded the said missile. The hawkish concentration with which his eyes followed the shoe as it passed him would have been a lesson for any top-order batsman in evading a bouncer. The Home Minister, who also happens to be an MBA from the Harvard Business School, quickly regained his Zen-like composure, managed a confused smile and in true Gandhian spirit proclaimed,

I forgive him...let not the action of one emotional person hijack the entire press conference. I have answered his question to the best of my ability

All of which brings us to the question of whether Jarnail Singh's preferred mode of protest is indeed justified. The missile in this case happened to be a sneaker which has a relatively low chance of causing grievous bodily harm. But it may not be long before a fanatic decides to hurl a clog or a skate shoe or 4-inch heels at his/her victim. Other than the obvious risk of physical injury, there is also the chance of hurting sensibilities. Everyone cannot be a George Bush or a P. Chidambaram in his reactions. The Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, for instance, let his displeasure known in describing his recent shoeing incident as "despicable". In this age of touchy international relations, it doesn't take much for a trivial issue to snowball into a major row. And with enough troubles in the world already, we do not really need any more.
There surely must be more civilised and creative methods of protest to get your point across. Suggestions anyone?

Here is the TV footage of the incident in question.