Fighting prejudices

KTR said:

So basically, people close to me thinks I'm nuts and that barefoot running is just "yet another eccentricity".
I guess when people that knows you for a long time find it extremely weird when you suddenly start doing something they didn't expect from you, and they look at you like :O or like :/ or even like ô_O and then they start "oh, I didn't know you liked that kind of things". Well, me neither, until I eventually tried it.
My biggest problem is to convince people that studied something related to health (be it Medicin, Pharmaceuticals, etc) that running barefoot is not dangerous. They perceive it as dangerous because "there's so much nasty, dangerous things on the ground and it's to easy to get infected with hepatitis".
Of course they say this because they never tried barefooting. They are used to walk carefree —which you can't do when barefoot.

So, whenever you told your friends and family you were into barefoot running, how did they react? And then what were your arguments to convince them (other than reducing injuries, the fact of feeling free, or improving your proprioception)?

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I found my family to be quite supportive, mainly because i'm quite eccentric anyway, nothing shocks them any more where my crazy antics are concerned, and it was also something that wouldn't effect them directly.
I tend to think you can't convince anyone, you can only live by example and eventually people will slowly warm to or at worst get used to what you are doing.
You're not fighting prejudice, because you have a choice in what you are doing. What you are doing is standing for what you believe in, which can sometimes feel uncomfortable if it's outside of popular culture.

I have gotten mostly amazement when people finds out of my BFR, I think in all my years of BFR I've gotten two negative comment, once was from a neighbor runner from across the street, she said, "let me know when you're going to be wearing shoes so we can go for a run together". I told her that me wearing shoes won't be happening anytime soon so she could just go ahead with her solo runs...she hasn't talk to me since.
The other time was this guy that I passed by in one my runs he says " put some shoes one" while taking a big cigarette puff. I was going to stop and face him but I decided that he wasn't worth my time.

At the beginning I thought it was so awesome that I kept talking about it ... especially with my family.
Basically for my family (wife and children) I do it on purpose, just to annoy ...
slightly larger, beautiful family and friends think it's funny!
Family on my side, all already know my quirky side! So: "no comment" and they are not even surprised (except my father, who said nothing but looked at me seemed to say: "This is really my son that!")
And the rest of the world does not interest me! But, so far, more positive than negative.
surprisingly, it is only for a few weeks (despite more than four years of practice) that I have the most return: TV and a lot of people who have the opportunity to ask: "why?" but an interested and not aggressively.

In short, my only concern remains my wife and teenage daughter (my son, 10, was a Barefooter before me => he is very happy since ... I do not bother with the more "put your slippers" ) but, little by little, I have small victories ... and permissiveness increases ...
So there is hope

But i'm OK with you : everyone, without exception, said: "It's dangerous!"
I reply: "No, I'm proof!"
But, suddenly, whenever there is a concern. This is directly the first thought that comes, "you have to stop running barefoot is because of that!"
On this day back for f-ing weeks ... but for reasons other than race and I know identify. But sure enough! "You must stop running barefoot!"

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Sur le début je trouvais ça tellement génial que je n'arrêtais pas d'en parler surtout avec mes proches.
En gros pour ma petite famille (enfants et épouse) je le fais exprès rien que pour les embêter... un peu plus étendu belle famille et amis trouvent ça drôle, famille de mon côté tous conaissaient déjà mon côté excentrique donc : no comment et même pas surpris (sauf mon père qui ne dit rien mais me regarde l'air de dire : "c'est vraiment mon fils ça !"
Et le reste du monde ne m'intéresse pas mais jusque là plus de positif que de négatif. étonnamment, ce n'est que depuis quelques semaine (malgré plus de 4 ans de pratique) que j'ai le plus de retour TV, et pas mal de personne qui soudain me voie et ont l'occasion de me demander le pourquoi mais d'une manière intéressée et non agressive.

Bref, mon seul souci c'est ma femme et ma fille adolescente (mon fils de 10 ans était un barefooter avant moi et est très heureux que depuis que je suis barfooter je ne l'embête plus avec les "met tes pantouffles") mais petit à petit j'ai de petite victoire et la permissivité augmente...
donc l'espoir existe

Mais tout le monde, sans exception, dit : "c'est dangereux !"
Moi, je réponds : "non j'en suis la preuve !"
Mais, du coup, dès qu'il y a un soucis. C'est directement la première réflexion qui vient : "faut que t'arrête de courir pieds nus c'est à cause de ça !"
En ce jour, dos foutus pour plusieurs semaines... mais pour d'autres raisons que la course et que je sais identifier. Mais ça n'a pas manqué ! "faut que t'arrête de courir pieds nus !"

My 10 yo daughter is the one who's started the running barefoot idea. I'm happy she takes this kind of initiative, inspired by Born to Run (which she's currently reading and loving). Her mother (whom I'm separated from) has gone off the charts just because we started running so I can only guess/assume that she hates this even more :-D. But I have warned her (the mother) about being negative about this towards the kids and told her to encourage them instead of bringing them down - which she spent all fall doing about going running. We'll see where this ends up...(the eternal and epic story of a separation, hrmmph).

My mother, I will never convenience that barefooting is safe, she does not approve, but accepts it. My sister supports me.

Since I just picked up being barefoot last month not too many people are aware of my lack of shoes. Since it has been to cold outside, I have started to take off my shoes when at events with friends and walk about barefoot, but my shoes are nearby, so people don't think it too strange and I am slowly introducing them to me in bare feet. I'm thinking that they will get use to seeing me barefoot that after a while they will not notice I didn't even bring shoes.

I've also talked with several runner friends and told them I'm learning to run barefoot since I heard it helps with form and I believe it already has helped me. So the runner friends don't see it as that odd. I plan to continue to use the running angle as much as possible. When people see me out and about barefoot, I'll tell them I'm working on toughing the feet up for running and then I'll mention another non running benefit. Both statements will be correct, but I lead with one that they might be able to process and accept first. I can launch into the benefits to my running form and improved cadence as personal proofs in my own life that this is worth it. Especially since I've been a struggling runner for two years and it is only after I start running barefoot I start to see some real improvements. Can't wait till I set a new PR in my next 5K race.

So that is the approach that I am working on using. I'm hoping it will work for me. But my personality as an outdoor enthusiast, quasi tree hugger, helps people more readily accept this new quirk of mine.