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bare feet
Unfortunately, our so-called "normal society" is failing. Be wise and become more educated in these matters before you criticize.
And don't forget, A bedroom door WON'T keep a pedophile away.
And don't forget, A bedroom door WON'T keep a pedophile away.
Comments
Was surprised to read that Carl followed the boys lead in shedding shoes for good, and not the other way around. Proof that he does listen to them and accept input. I'd like to know what his history was before then, per going bare foot.
My questions are: when did you first become aware that barefooting was not something the majority of people your age or any age do? Was there ever a time when you thought about 'conforming'? Do any of your friends go BF?Do you find yourself wearing shoes more as you age and gain new interests (ie, the softball games, from K's blog)? Where do you go regularly Bf, and where don't you go because of anti Bf policys?
There are stores, theatres, libraries, etc.. that accept BF (and these we try and highlight on our 'society for barefoot living' website), and those that dont. I'm currently in what may become a court battle with Winco food stores to change or remove their sign that states barefooting in store is 'against the law'. Contrarily, the local Safeway manager welcomes me, and has even posted a sign stating Barefoot customers are OK! I may start going to Costco since Kyle writes of going there several times in his blog...
I guess if you don't think about it much (besides responding to the occasional rude comment as we all must) thats even better-no one should worry about such a trivial thing thats none of their business anyway-same way I think the world should be clothing optional, long as you're not doing anything inappropriate.
I plan on being barefoot as often as possible, more than ever before, come nicer weather, and my kid already is this way. Probably I'll wear shoes only to work. I'm writing around, gathering info from local businesses on their BF policies. It's about personal freedoms to me, and being allowed to make my own decisions. Wish i didnt have to worry about it at all...
Now, as for your questions:
1) I don't remember, but I'm sure I knew pretty early on, since I saw that most people wore shoes most of the time (duh). Not like I'm living in a cave.
2) I haven't had many reasons to, except as noted below.
3) Not that I'm aware of.
4) When shoes are needed, I'll wear 'em. Yes, that was the case with softball.
5) Everywhere, except stores, restaurants, and so on (silly anti-litigation policies, or so they say), or if it's really cold, or something. These days I'd rather just wear the flip-flops than make a stink about it, although occasionally I like to go into a "forbidden" area (Borders, for example) and see how long I can get away with it
It's funny how people see us barefoot on TV and ascribe that to religious reasons, or health reasons, or something. Well, I'm sure there are health reasons and so forth, but that's not why I'm barefoot! If wearing shoes was more comfortable and didn't result in a disconnection with feeling where I'm going and a loss of perception (amazing how often people stub there toes . . . I never do that) and all that, admittedly I'd probably be wearing 'em!
I've actually heard conflicting reports on Borders-I'll be trying them next year-generally I try places where there's no 'greeter type' at the door. Once I'm in, I'm golden-I'll fill up a basket like I'm buying alot, so they're less likely to kick me out-everytime I've been warned or confronted anywhere, it's been after I've checked out...my best Bf places are safeway (one local one at least, whose manager told me no shoes, no problem, and posted this as well), blockbuster, any fast food place (minimum wage slaves dont need or want the hassle)...but then I wear long pants mostly and it's a little harder to tell i'm BF than in shorts
1. It's fun-kids are all about pleasure, thats why they go barefoot-why cant I have fun too?
2. It feels good-ancient therapies such as reflexology prove that the foot is one of the main nerve centers, adn prssure on it affects the brain positively. It's nice to feel the push of the earth, the textures, the sensations.
3. It's healthy. you won't get hookwrm unless you live in Calcutta or some place with open sewage. Watch where you walk & you won't step in anything. Free feet dont smell, it's shoes and the bacteria growing within that breed fungus.
4. It raises awaresnesss-as I said above, when you're Bf, you become more aware of whats around you, where you are and where you're going. You become an active participant in your life instead of just cruising thru it unaware.
5. It's a conversation starter. It shakes people up. Then they open dialogues with you and you can share alot of information.
6. It keeps Nike from getting any of your paycheck, and that money can be donated to kyle's website.
7. It's brings attention to your feet, one of the hardest working, most under appreciated body parts. They're not ugly, they're not offensive, and they're not immoral. They deserve to be allowed out now and then to smile at the world.
[Edit: Had to make your numbers sequential . . .
-Wash them
2. You can catch hookworm
-If you step in human feces-i dont make a habit of this
3. Feet are ugly
-Dont look down
4. It's illegal
-In Singapore, maybe...
5. You might step on glass
-Watch where you walk
6. Buying shoes helps support the economy.
-Whose economy, Singapore's?
7. Only poor people go barefoot
-well, I'm not rich, baby...
8. Only perverts go barefoot
-Lots of perverts wear shoes, too...
9. You can't run fast in bare feet.
-Who am I running from, exactly?
and so on...
Now what is considered a barefooted person. See I never walk around my house with shoes because it's Hawaii and if you walk around with shoes in your house you must be crazy. (It's some odd thing from the Asians, fyi: I find myself quite able to say this finding myself half asian) However, I still rarely ever exit my house with toe covered shoes unless I'm planning to hike, or the occasion calls for it. Yet, I always wear slippers (flipflops as it is referred to in the mainland). Am I considered a barefooter? If I am a barefooter that would make 50 percent of the island also barefooters.
hmmm.... but I still appreciate my slippers outside because I am quite clumsy and it isn't worth my day to stop assorted poo, gum, or glass. Is going out in slippers still considered shoeless? :shock: :roll:
-I HATE flip flops with a passion. I wear sandals, even now in the cold old NW, and yestersay i was barefoot, sunny and cool, near 60, and of course a fellow said 'forget your shoes? haha.'
These are my footwear of choice
Also, according to the website they are sandals, but I will still call them my slippers.
I quit wearing slippers when i found it was confusing my dog- whenever I asked him to fetch my slippers, he got this quizzical look on his face...
Well, what is your dog used to fetching?
I have always heard that babies should not wear shoes anyway, they learn to walk better barefoot. Nothing cuter than baby feet, either, is there! I never enforced a shoe rule with the kids, they can be shoeless when they want to be. That too drove my mom crazy. She was always like, put shoes on the kids. I say, why? Is there some harm in letting a kid be barefoot, uh, no.
regarding stores barefoot policy(no shoes, no shirt, no service), your litigation in this area intrigues me, Buddy! I would love to check out the website you referred to in your post, or learn more about the laws, etc regarding these store policies. I always assumed stores required shoes to keep foot injury lawsuits down.
I don't think store policies have anything to do with health or law, though that's what they always say. My dad, brother, and I have been going to hardware stores for over ten years. Nails. Saws. Hammers. Sharp stuff. Heavy stuff. Never asked to leave, never a problem. But try going into a restaurant, or bookstore, or even a comic-book store . . .
anyway, I have a victory to report in this area: Walmart contacted me this week, and said bare feet are OK. They'd tried to say the 'Dept of Ag' had a law against it (that was a new one to me)-I contacted the Dept of Ag-no such law, of course-then contacted Walmart HQ again, and few days later, the manager of the brand spanking newly remodeled Walmart calls and says (though he didnt sound too enthused about it) that bare feet were ok...dying to get in there and test this out but been too busy and cold lately...
so thats a safeway and a walmart I've convinced-baby steps are fine, long as they're made in bare feet...
I'm tempted to try
so now my barefoot day can include safeway, fred meyers, walamrt, bloackbuster, and of course the post office and karate class-thats pretty much everywhere I might go in the course of a day-come nicer weather, goodbye shoes! (except for work, damn work-and even then i could slip them off until the kids get up...)
Got a lot of looks and a few whispered comments (that guys barefoot mumble mumble), but no problems (had the letter from the head office in my pocket just in case)-and I spent $40 that they wouldn't have otherwise got if they demanded shoes...
Shoes just dont work in my dojo, the carpet is too grabby, if you know what I mean. Socks work best, but they get too hot.
The carpet at the other dojo we use for tests, hoewever, is like walking on butter-soooo soft...
some dojos have hard wood floors-ouch. I spent 1/2 hour being thrown down t'other day in a lesson (it was a girl's birthday, so that was her gift), and thats not an experience I'd ever like to try on any uncarpeted floor...
Here's the link or whatever you call it-if this doesnt work, I have a longer one you can try.
http://tinyurl.com/3t2qp
My record for full time barefooting is 3 days, but I'll break that this year, with numerous more stores and places that've approved bare feet in writing or verbally. Only place I still go regularly with a policy against it is the library, and I'll be battling them soon on this...
I was always able to get away with bare feet at the city library, although I was politely "advised" to put on some shoes once or twice. Of course, for a long time I think I stood out less because I was just a kid, and as that began to wear off I started to be more discreet; walking down the smaller aisles, not lingering in the central 'lobby' area, etc.
Well, I've obviously got you beat in the continuous barefooting department, but then again I kind of got a head start. To be fair, I'm sure you've got me beat in the non-barefoot catagory. My record for full-time shoe-wearing is probably about a day, maybe two if you don't count sleeping time...
The folks at karate (actaully shoalin kempo-a mix of karate, kung fu & jui jitsu and some other-kinda the 'mutt' of martial arts) are weird-about half to 3/4 are bf at any time-the teacher usually is, though he hasa pair of wrestling /MA shoes he also wears (which he claims don't grip the carpet, but I'm wary of trying any). Had one of our tests outside once becuase of the size of the crowd-and wore sandals-that was like wearing concrete blocks...
I usually drive to class bf, and sit in the parking lot, chat with friends, pick up trash, before class starts-and always somebody will mention my feet.
Saw a beginners kids class today-12 kids-only one in bare feet. Hope that changes as they realize the benefits of no socks in there (less slippery-can see if your're holding your foot right for kicks, feet get tougher faster without padding around them, etc). If and when i open my own studio, it'll be bare feet only.
As for the library, they always have rent a cops trolling around-I'd love them to make me (2 time volunteer of the month there) leave for bare feet, when they let street bums sleep and snore and harass patrons, and wear shoes they havent taken off since 1984-yuck!-but so far i've abided by their rule-At least it IS posted at least, in small print in the lobby, along with the rest of the rules-I do go barefoot in the basement there, where I do most of my volunteer work-nobody says a thing except 'you look comfortable'.
as for continuos barefooting, did you catch the story about the Norwegian barefooter who's gone w/out shoes for 15 years? Started as a bet with his brother-got international press.
Our Great Lakes have a lot of rocks (especially Lake Superior), so wading out and in after a swim is hard on the feet! When I was a kid I got a jagged stone imbedded in the sole of my heel. I had to have it removed, that was awful.
You can come and volunteer in my library anytime Buddy! Are you clipping obits in your library? I'm into genealogy so I know how important obits are. In fact, a branch of my Grandfather's family contacted my Mom after my Grandma's obit was in the paper. We were given pictures we never knew existed. My Grandpa has bare feet in the pictures!
I love obits-I'm about 10 years behind in putting them into scrapbooks-have 50 done, have 3 boxes full of clipped ones ready to post-really, one of those hobbies that got out of hand,,,
yeah, that was one of my arguments with safeway-they'd ban bare feet, but allow people in with stomachs and other parts all hanging out, pierced, tattoed, etc...I won that battle-havent taken anyone on yet this year...
When I was a kid, up until about 16 and I needed money adn got a summer time job, the shoes came off after school let out for the summer and didn't come on until it started up in the fall. I played golf barefoot at the public course. I did carry flops with me if I came to a place that wouldn't let me in barefoot, but they were few and far between. My high school friends thought I was a leftover 60's hippy and just went with it.
Now, I just turned 48 yesterday, I still barefoot around town and they come off as soon as I get in the car at work. A mexican food place I go to doesn't mind .. prolly cuz I eat there 3-4 times a week, but I do hafta wear sandals at the gym I go to .. they're afraid I'll step on something.
errrr, sorry I've rambled on longer than I should.
To me, going barefoot is just a normal state of affairs.
peace,
bob
Xavier Rudd, an Aussie who says he only wears shoes when he snowboards (wuss!)-he plays traditional music as well as popular covers.
Joss Stone, a 17 yo Brit getting lots of exposure last couple years for her soul singing-she was just on the Grammys, barefoot of course, as she seems to be at every performance...
if some true barefooter could just break thru to the big big time (Britney Spears doesnt count) it'd be great for our cause, IF they stayed barefoot after reaching those great heights, that is...