It's very much a US thing, although France comes a close second. Everywhere else I've traveled in the world (i.e., most of it), it's not usually a problem.
The Americans and the French both tend to take themselves way to seriously. I can say that with some immunity because I'm an American. The idea of having to wear pants instead of shorts in order to go barefoot pisses me off. I hate wearing long pants.
There's too much rhetoric about freedom here in the US...but when one wants to break free of social norms, where's the freedom?
Here's a thought - if the chemicals are truly a health hazard as they say, then you could poiint out that 1) they're not supposed to have any health hazards in their store, 2) what about all the little kids that stick their hands on the ground and then stick them in their mouth and all that stuff? are they really so much more concerned about someone who has lots of defenses built up in their feet than little kids, who it could be far more harmful to? seriously, I don't really view their argument as very valid
You could try wearing a t-shirt with the "barefoot hikers" logo printed on it, then when someone says barefooting is dangerous, you can point to it and say you're specially trained for it and can walk safely on glass and nails, etc. I've done that, but no one bothers about bare feet in the UK...
I need one of those. I'm going to try putting a bandaid on top of my foot in the mean time and just say I hurt my foot.
I agree. I find it quite baffling why here in the U.S., there's such an aversion to seeing bare feet in public. It doesn't seem to be that way in most of the rest of the world. I figure if I'm going to wear long pants, I might as well wear socks and shoes, too. I MUCH prefer wearing shorts and being barefoot, especially here in L.A. this time of year. That combination is a winning one, in my humble opinion.
Yeah, I hate wearing long pants. I live in Phoenix AZ so the weather rarely gets cold enough that really need long pants to stay warm, but I have to wear them at work. I wish I could just wear shorts, and go barefoot and not be bothered.
Yep, I have to wear long pants at work, too---and SHOES!!! I spend most of my day sitting behind a computer, so whenever I'm sitting at my desk, I usually slip off my shoes to let my feet breathe. But then I have to slip them back on if I get up from my desk to go anywhere else in the building. Like you, if I had it my way, I'd go in to work in a T-shirt, shorts and barefoot, like I am at home. Oh, well...
i too sit behind a computer so have to wear long pants and also safety shoes as i go into the factory occasionally. Its a real drag in summer. Would much prefer to be in t shirt shorts and barefeet.
Oh, its even worse for me, I work at a flight academy, so we have to wear our white shirts, trousers, and ties, and play airline pilot. Is there anything stupider then putting people in white shirts and then expecting them to crawl around under oily airplanes during preflight? But the way I figure, thats work, and they can make me wear what they wish, but on my time I should be able to wear whatever I want.
OMG, that has to be the most ridiculous thing. I wonder what genius thought up the dress code at your workplace? At least where I work, the men don't have to wear ties (except for sales reps who have to meet with customers face to face). Working at a flight academy must be the reason why your user handle here is "flyboy270". I like it!
