Your most uncomfortable barefooting situation

Discussion in 'Barefoot' started by barefooted_in_iowa, Jun 10, 2010.

  1. barefooted_in_iowa

    barefooted_in_iowa Member

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    When would public barefooting make you most uncomfortable? For me it would be around family.
     
  2. boguskyle

    boguskyle kyleboguesque

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    why? :confused:

    for me, too hot cement
     
  3. hillman30

    hillman30 Member

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    Good question. I dunno, last year I was very uptight about banks and Macys. This year tried the usual haircut place and got several of the downward glances, which made me uncomfortable....but why should I need shoes for that? I think I am very apprehensive of upscale department stores like Nordstroms or Lord and Taylor (I live near many huge malls). So maybe they should be my summer challenge....I would probably get looks and comments but it's not gonna get in the local paper. I have been in them before with ripped jeans and suffered comments from these "people".
     
  4. hillman30

    hillman30 Member

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    Being barefoot since April you must be getting used to the whole in public thing....no?
     
  5. jagerhans

    jagerhans Far out, man. Lifetime Supporter

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    when i roam in the bushes around the river and i find myself literally in front of a bed made of thin and thick thorny bramble branches and i have to cross it because it is easier going forward than the way back. it is a «fakir walk» where it is important to watch down and step carefully. of course one cannot avoid all thorns but if i catch one of two they are easy to pull off and minimally painful once removed i forget them. very often i pass these thorn beds with no pain but once home i spot several tiny ones lodged in the sole but too short to hurt. this is more annoying than super hot surfaces but usually is just a few meters.
    just imagine putting a shoeless tenderfoot in the middle of such spots. hat would really be a HELL of fun to watch :reddevil:
     
  6. barefootman

    barefootman Member

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    Years ago, I ran into my girlfriend's father at the mall. The funny thing is that I didn't realize that I was barefoot until I noticed that every time he said something to me he would look down at my feet! I made lite of the situation by wiggling my toes back at him.
     
  7. barefootmichael

    barefootmichael Member

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    walking over hot sand on the beach today on the way back to my friend's car today was absolutely brutal
     
  8. barefooted_in_iowa

    barefooted_in_iowa Member

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    would not want to embarrass family. i have met people who are fine if i go barefoot in public around them, but i think that would make family uncomfortable. that's the huge reason im happy i dont live in my hometown anymore. i dont even have to own shoes if i don't want and i can go barefoot anywhere any time without fear of running into family or family friends!!
     
  9. jagerhans

    jagerhans Far out, man. Lifetime Supporter

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    i used to agree with your point of view until a few years ago. then i made a U turn of the mind (which is always a very hip thing to do if stemming from insight and rationality)

    my opinion today:

    You are not going to be perfectly cool with barefooting until you will realize that there is no such thing as "getting caught" barefoot. thieves, murderers,offenders, corrupt politicians "get caught". you don't need to run away from home, find pretexts or apologize. being shod or barefooted it is strictly your personal business and a freedom issue - admittedly a petty one, but no one wants to compromise about his or her personal freedom. family and friends are meant to be more supporting, tolerant and forgiving than the average stranger from the street, yet you fear confrontation with your loved ones more than with unknown and potentially hostile people. it is because deep inside you are perceiving barefootedness as a violation of a rule accepted by your family-community and you estimate that their opinion about your behavior matters more than your personal happiness. but the point is that, deep inside, you agree with the rule: what would you do if all of a sudden your friends and relatives start believing that no decent person can face everyday life without a white wig ? chances are that you'd probably ignore their disappointment in your regards because you know it is not reasonable asking you to wear a white wig. the fact that most people, not just your friends and family, share the shod lifestyle is irrelevant : most people supported wars, stupid religions and false beliefs galore for too much time to continue thinking that majorities must be right: majorities often are just flocks of people too lazy to think by themselves and don't have by any means the keys to absolute truth. in fact majorities are regularly stupid as bricks and this explains so much of our world.

    now that we realized that the common opinion is no gospel;

    and if we agree with the fact that reasonable people is not going to please their families at all costs just for the hell of it;

    and if we agree with the fact that your loved ones must necessarily be more tolerant with you than the rest of the world;

    and if we believe that personal freedom is essential to happiness;

    given all this, you cannot be totally happy with barefooting and life in general unless you learn to ignore the opinion of your family and friends about what is considered a decent behavior in public . there are laws marking the border between licit and illicit things.
    You are not expected to self inflict yourself further limitations... of course, unless you want to.
     
  10. StraightToes

    StraightToes N/A

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    Wow, I sorta like that! :)
     
  11. toothfairy

    toothfairy Member

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    Reading a lot of threads here, it seems that not wearing shoes is really frowned upon in a lot of places.

    I've never seen it as such a big deal. From as young as I can remember I was barefoot most of the time.

    I tend to keep a pair of shoes in my car for the rare occassion where I need to enter a restaurant or drinking establishment with strict dress codes, apart from that I never wear shoes unless it is really cold ( my toes really feel the cold ) I go barefoot to the doctor, the bank, my kids schools, everywhere. Perhaps weddings and funerals would be an exception, and that is only for the ceremony/service, I remove my shoes for the reception etc..
     
  12. barefooted_in_iowa

    barefooted_in_iowa Member

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    Kia Ora!

    Interesting dissection. I guess you are just more dedicated than I am. Oh well, enjoy!

    Cheers!
     
  13. ganesha1967

    ganesha1967 barefoot bellybearer

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    Considering the place you live, you're on the lucky side of being on a less barefoot-hostile continent than the majority of PPL here (who live in the US). The land down under has been known to be a barefoot-friendly or atleast a barefoot-indifferent place for a long while.

    Hmm, as far as weddings go, there are ceremonies where bride and groom are barefoot, and then it's more than OK for guests to be barefoot, too. And I guess if you were invited to a naturist wedding ceremony, no one would care what you wear on your feet. :D

    With funerals it depends on whose life is honored there and if the deceased was a person open to having non-mainstream persons around. If that is the case, being barefoot there would be no sign of disrespect at all.

    Oh, and to give my bit to the topic of this thread: back in high school, I once decided to wear a pair of quite old flip-flops to school on a warm summer day, and when I was bicycling to school, the strap on one of them broke. Since I was almost at the school when it happened, I decided that there's no point in turning back and getting some extra footwear, so I stopped, threw the broken flip-flops into a trashcan, and went to school barefoot.

    During the 9.30 break, I was confronted by a grumpy, balding chemistry teacher who took a disapproving look at my bare feet, saying "you're barefoot??? I'd never let you in my class without shoes!" That was the first time of someone openly rejecting my barefooting, and also a starting point in building up barefoot self-confidence, as I defiantly replied "Well, I'm not in one of your classes, anyway, am I...??" He scowled at me but let it be at that point. Funny thing is, that in all my school career, I never had any classes led by that man. :)

    From that moment on, I was comfortably barefoot many times at school as well as elsewhere.

    Wiggling happy bare toes,

    ~*Ganesha*~
     

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