Bare feet - sign of poverty or prosperity?

I received a notice from DG2001, which relates in my opinion to an important issue:

I guess, many people throughout the world are anxious to be disdained for poverty when going barefoot. This is a relic from former times, when shoes were expensive and only affordable to prosperous people. But today masses of shoes are on the market, and poor people take all efforts to wear them and to hide their fault.

Prosperous people, however, live in a clean and luxurious environment, which is ideal for barefoot wellbeing. They travel to Caribbean or Maldive resorts, where they spend their time without shoes. And prosperous cities can afford public spa facilities and keep them clean.



Prosperous families spend their weekends in barefoot parks, which exist in prosperous countries.



People in Latin American countries should get knowledge of this kind of prosperity! Would it be possible to inspire the journalists to report on these spa and touristic developments in European countries? (Perhaps some will find the "barefoot prosperity" section of my website?) International exchange of good ideas and information should help to overcome silly prejudice!

Feel good, live unshod,

Lorenz

 

the only difference between shod people walking in the fat side of the world and poor people from underdeveloped places is that if they go bf the former fear of being considered madmen , the latter fear of being regarded as poor. in other words both fear to appear for what they really are !

shoddies tend to deny the fact that at least half of the real reasons that induce them into shoes are not practical but social. otherwise they wouldn't wish of being barefoot yet they don't dare to do that. a friend of mine once was sitting with me on some nice grass in Rome during a protest, when he said "you've got awful feet" (true, the big old city soils feet worse than a barrel of tar) but then added 'being barefoot on this grass must be wonderful' 'why don't you get barefoot and try out then?" no answer. no need for an answer. i knew perfectly how it feels avoiding something good just because of prejudice and fear of being despised and laughed at, I spent half of my life at that. I understand that seeing me treading on the gross filth of a soiled city or even marching on sidewalks literally carpeted with smashed beer bottles isn't very alluring for the shoddy, but a lawn is a lawn and if your shoes hurt you'd better give your feet some rest. still I understand his feelings: when drafted to the navy I made the giant mistake to go with some new boots of mine that plagued me for 4 days, opening a bleeding bruise in my ankle that festered me to the point i could barely walk, yet I never had the guts to toss the damned leather things that removed promptly the few plasters i had. no i couldn't ask for shoes, bandage or shit, it was the italian navy and i wasn't yet a recruit, nor i could afford another pair.

 

It was most surprising even for me to see thousands of people obviously enjoying the barefoot park of Dornstetten within a single day. On nice days, it always looks like that:



Once the barbecue area of the Dornstetten barefoot park was so overcrowded and produced so much smoke, that the fire brigade was alarmed
(no joke, I read this in a serious newspaper). But the parking lot was so jammed that they couldn't advance to the fireplace. Fortunately nothing had happened.....

In the towns where visitors come from, however, you can spend a week for seeing a short dozen of barefooters. But if you establish a barefoot park and thus define barefooting as socially accepted, you will see veritable barefoot crowds! E.g. 200,000 visitors per year in Dornstetten. All these people like it! I can't explain but by social reasons, that you don't see these barefoot crowds elsewhere.

Feel good, live unshod,

Lorenz