Here we go again....

If it's really a "safety" issue, would the owner accept a signed waiver?
Or is it actually a dress code concern?
Not his safety. The safety of the other people.

Edit: I am not saying there is anything to be concerned about. That's just what all those business people are thinking. "Oh no some barefoot guy is going to infect the building with his nasty bare feet and everyone will become a zombie because of the guy's nasty bare feet!" It seems like they're just afraid of things they don't understand or aren't familiar with.
 
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It's sadly amusing that many restaurant and store owners believe it's okay for them to make a "big deal" about us being barefoot, but it's silly of us to make a big deal about them wanting to take away our personal freedom to be ourselves!
 
Maybe it's Mike & Jen giving you Portland barefooters a bad rep; one too many gluteal trigger point insertions over a latte. Now they think barefooting is a gateway to that sort of thing.

Butt seriously, it's a blessing to be persecuted, for those of us who are otherwise rather hegemonic or 'normal.' Makes us realize what others not so fortunate go through every day, and they don't have the option of putting something on to fit in.

Go Hawks!
 
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Bare Lee,

I've suggested in the past that social studies teachers, as part of the study of civil rights, should ask their students to try going barefoot for one week (one day, one month, or whatever) to get a real idea of what it feels like to be discriminated against. Whether we are discriminated for a choice we make, or for some inherent aspect of ourselves, experiencing discrimination provides a clarity about how wrong it is to discriminate against others, that can't easily be put into words. It's like putting yourself in someone else's "shoes" (not literally though).
 
We all know it is 100% about the "ick-factor."

I played baseball my entire life. Towards the end of my high school career I got some serious "athlete's foot." I think I tried absolutely every anti-fungal cream they offered at CVS. I could never get rid of it and had it throughout all of college as well. In total I probably had these disgusting looking feet for nearly 6 years.

After going completely barefoot two summers ago-and even then it took forever for the fungus to go away-my feet finally became free of the red, irritated, cracked, oozing skin. It probably took 4 or 5 months for my feet to be TOTALLY clear of it. It's really amazing how the body reacts to the way it is treated.

This is why I find these rules so absurd. Don't wear shoes for a few months and you'll have the freshest feet of your life.

....I have another similar anecdote concerning shirts and "bacne," but I will save that for another post...
 
We all know it is 100% about the "ick-factor."

I played baseball my entire life. Towards the end of my high school career I got some serious "athlete's foot." I think I tried absolutely every anti-fungal cream they offered at CVS. I could never get rid of it and had it throughout all of college as well. In total I probably had these disgusting looking feet for nearly 6 years.

After going completely barefoot two summers ago-and even then it took forever for the fungus to go away-my feet finally became free of the red, irritated, cracked, oozing skin. It probably took 4 or 5 months for my feet to be TOTALLY clear of it. It's really amazing how the body reacts to the way it is treated.

I had a similar experience which I think was caused by wearing "too-tight" shoes. Since they were too tight they squished my pinky toe up against the next one. All my life I've had the red itchy feeling as well as cracking. Nowhere else on my feet, just between those two toes. After I started wearing toe-socks it magically went away. I guess it was just too much moisture for my skin to fight against that bacteria? Who knows. No itching = bliss.
 
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We all know it is 100% about the "ick-factor."
Yep that's been my conclusion too. People take the state of shod feet, and since most everyone is shod, they assume it's the natural state of feet, shod or bare, to be stinky, fragile, overly sensitive, or even deformed. (Kinda like inactive people thinking it's natural to get a lot of aches and pains. Or people with shitty jobs thinking that feeling depressed is a medical condition.) Surprisingly, this isn't just folk perception, but medically trained podiatrists--professionals that spend a good deal of time contemplating and treating the foot--often have similarly silly notions about the foot's inherent ick-factor.
It's like putting yourself in someone else's "shoes" (not literally though).
Ha! That pun occurred to me just after I wrote that . . .
 
WinstonChurchill.jpg
 
Since they were too tight they squished my pinky toe up against the next one. All my life I've had the red itchy feeling as well as cracking. Nowhere else on my feet, just between those two toes

Mine was mostly located around my third, fourth and fifth toes also.
 
I don't know about you all, but I would like to actually attempt to do something about the whole "no shoes in stores" "no shoes at work" etc. situation.

It's just absolutely ridiculous. Many of us here wear nothing on our feet 100% of the time that we are not forced to do so by laws. The bottoms of our feet are no more dirty than any pair of shoes...it just does absolutely no harm to anyone. God knows why it makes people feel uncomfortable, even my family thinks it is disrespectful to not wear shoes on most different occassions.

I'm not sure what exactly to do to get these kinds of rules changed...plead with my local mayor or something? I mean I'm not trying to do anything drastic, I just can't handle it anymore; it's so pointless. Talking about it on here is a start I guess, but I don't want to wait around another 5 or 10 or 20 or however many years to *not* be forced to do something that is unhealthy for me.

Not only am I looking out for myself here, but I just want to help other people see that they can help themselves so easily for the long run...for free.


I don't know, I just get so tired of "suiting up for society" as I like to call it. I have no idea how to take it from here but I would like to do something, and sooner rather than later. Maybe I should just start not caring at all and walking in everywhere I go barefoot and just getting kicked out left and right.
 
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I'm not sure what exactly to do to get these kinds of rules changed...plead with my local mayor or something?
Alas, social mores can be quite difficult to change, even when the law is on your side!

As a parallel, I was curious about the history of Christmas trees.
www.history.com/topics/history-of-christmas-trees

Is that your family crest in your avatar? Perhaps, if one could convince the Queen to become a barefooter, then British royalty could popularize barefooting as they did for Christmas trees.
 
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I don't know about you all, but I would like to actually attempt to do something about the whole "no shoes in stores" "no shoes at work" etc. situation.

It's just absolutely ridiculous. Many of us here wear nothing on our feet 100% of the time that we are not forced to do so by laws. The bottoms of our feet are no more dirty than any pair of shoes...it just does absolutely no harm to anyone. God knows why it makes people feel uncomfortable, even my family thinks it is disrespectful to not wear shoes on most different occassions.

I'm not sure what exactly to do to get these kinds of rules changed...plead with my local mayor or something? I mean I'm not trying to do anything drastic, I just can't handle it anymore; it's so pointless. Talking about it on here is a start I guess, but I don't want to wait around another 5 or 10 or 20 or however many years to *not* be forced to do something that is unhealthy for me.

Not only am I looking out for myself here, but I just want to help other people see that they can help themselves so easily for the long run...for free.


I don't know, I just get so tired of "suiting up for society" as I like to call it. I have no idea how to take it from here but I would like to do something, and sooner rather than later. Maybe I should just start not caring at all and walking in everywhere I go barefoot and just getting kicked out left and right.

Have you heard about the Society for Barefoot Living? You could join them. They do things to try to change the laws, I believe, and they have materials you can carry to help you fight your battles, get into stores, all that.

Also, you could talk to Ahcuah and Longboard here at the BRS; they know a lot of stuff. Ahcuah actively fights his local government to get the rules changed.
 
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Alas, social mores can be quite difficult to change, even when the law is on your side!

As a parallel, I was curious about the history of Christmas trees.
www.history.com/topics/history-of-christmas-trees

Is that your family crest in your avatar? Perhaps, if one could convince the Queen to become a barefooter, then British royalty could popularize barefooting as they did for Christmas trees.
Interesting.
 
My mom arrived from Florida to spend Christmas with us. She drove. She wore these extra large, soft and cushiony slippers. I told her those were a driving hazzard, very dangerous. She says, "Aren't you the one (referring to me out of 8 kids) who used to drive around barefoot?" I said, "Yes, and what would be the problem with that." I could see her thinking. But she couldn't come up with anything, and when I pressed her on it, she had to admit bare feet were the safest of all to drive with. Small victories. Now, I guess we'll know if it's a true victory when she drives home.
 
Alas, social mores can be quite difficult to change, even when the law is on your side!.

Indeed, but I can deal with a weird look a lot easier than being forced out of places.

My avatar is JS Bach's monogram. It's constructed using his initials J, S, and B.
 
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Have you heard about the Society for Barefoot Living? You could join them. They do things to try to change the laws, I believe, and they have materials you can carry to help you fight your battles, get into stores, all that.

Also, you could talk to Ahcuah and Longboard here at the BRS; they know a lot of stuff. Ahcuah actively fights his local government to get the rules changed.

No, I had never heard about that, but I will look into it.

Yeah, barefoot seems like the safest way to drive to me, I think that might even be illegal.
 
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