Subject: alt.lifestyle.barefoot FAQ [2/2] Newsgroups: alt.lifestyle.barefoot,alt.answers,news.answers Followup-To: alt.lifestyle.barefoot Summary: Frequently Asked Questions about living barefoot Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Archive-Name: barefoot-faq/part2 Posting-Frequency: monthly (on the 10th) Last-modified: 1997/06/06
However, being polite usually helps and some barefooters have gotten into some interesting conversations. Maybe you can even make a few converts!
The responses get nastier or weirder the farther down the list they are. It depends on your mood at the time. (Some of the responses can be used in response to more than one comment.)
One guy actually did write to all 50 states asking the question. All the letters he received back are available via:
http://www.urbanlegends.com/legal/driving.barefoot/driving_barefoot.html
Additionally, the American Automobile Association (AAA) publishes a "Digest of Motor Laws" handbook that is a:
Summary of laws and regulations governing regulation and operation of passenger cars in the United States, its Territories, and the Provinces of Canada.It has a "Barefoot Driving" entry for all states and territories; and for each it says: "Operation of a motor vehicle by a driver with bare feet is permitted."
The 62nd edition has ISBN 0-916748-70-7. You can obtain a copy of the digest through your local AAA club. When I called my local AAA club, they were clueless about the fact thay they sell it. Be persistent. If all else fails, you can contact:
American Automobile Association Traffic Safety and Engineering Department 1000 AAA Drive Heathrow, FL 32746-5063
Note that mind-set varies with locale: In the Chicago area, for example, many large chain stores and supermarkets forbid bare feet. If you go to warmer climates like California or Florida, barefooted people are much more common so nobody thinks anything of it. Also, if store-owners chased out barefooted customers, they'd be doing that all day long.
On a more global scale, countries like Australia and New Zealand are very barefoot friendly. Many, many people go barefoot regularly everywhere. Nobody cares and they think it's completely natural (which it is).
I know a guy who complained to the health department in CA about McDonalds displaying the sign, "No Bare Feet by Order of the Department of Health." It turned out that McDonald's removed the signs (in CA) and wrote a letter of apology to guy who complained!
For an exercise, I called the headquarters of a large supermarket chain in the Chicago area. The woman on the phone was just as ignorant: she thought it was illegal to go barefoot into stores. I asked her to give me the statute number (knowing full well that she couldn't because it doesn't exist). She said she'd have to call me back. She actually did and told me that there is no law, but it's their "store policy."
Of course, the bottom line is that a store-owner can refuse to serve you for any reason so long as it isn't sex, race, religion, veteran status, sexual orientation, etc, etc. Bare feet, unfortunately, are not "covered" by anti-discrimination laws. But you can spend your dollars elsewhere.
As an aside, what does health have to do with it? Do they sell food off the floor? Yes, when I go barefoot, the soles of my feet get very dirty...so what? Are shoe-soles any cleaner? Dirt is dirt. At least I wash myself daily which is most likely more than people wash the soles of their shoes.
In another respect, I do have some sympathy for them. The USA is, by far, the most "sue-happy" country in the world. And the worst part is that dumb-ass juries enable people to win! There was a case where one neighbor borrowed another's lawnmower. The guy decided that his hedges needed a trim, so he picks up the lawnmower while it's still running and, needless to say, injures himself very badly. He sued not only the lawnmower manufacturer, but also his neighbor for failing to warn him that picking up a running lawnmower was dangerous. He won! Given such verdicts, the store-owners are just protecting themselves.
Even if I were to cut myself, I would not sue. I am a big boy and realize the possible consequences of my actions and realize that most things that happen to me are my fault.
I try to give these places my business. No shirt, no shoes, no money!
[The following was contributed by Don Weber <ToughFeet@aol.com>.]
Soft soled moccasins may be purchased from Tandy Leather Company. If there is no store near you, then request a catalog from:Another good thing about soft-soled moccasins is that they can be folded up and easily stuffed into a fanny-pack. This way, you don't have to carry shoes, but you have them in case you are forced to wear them.Tandy Leather Company Advertising Department Box 791 Fort Worth, TX 76101They are a bargain at under $10. They come in the form of a kit that you sew together yourself with shoe laces. It's easy because the holes are already punched for you. Make sure you get the ones without those stupid hard soles stitched to them. The foam insole can easily be ripped out as well.
[Don also likes Knoppy Birkenstocks.]
Super Knoppy Birkenstocks may be ordered from any store that sells Birkenstocks. They rarely stock Super Knoppies because very few customers order them. Think of them as a sandal with very wide, but blunt and rounded, plastic nails sticking up from the footbed. These "nails" are called "knops." They breath better than any soled footware I know.
Experience with them indicates that they do in fact fool people, the "No Bare Feet" crowd being the chief target. The theory is that an observer's brain doesn't notice anything unusual in peripheral vision, not enough to glance down. People who do glance down may feel too stupid asking a question even though they may realize that "something's wrong with this picture."
You used to be able to get them from American Science & Surplus in Skokie, IL; however, they're all sold out and no more are being made. The description:
A pair of 1/2" x 33" leather straps with a buckle on one end and a couple of small slits with brass studs along the way. The idea was to thread the strap around your big toe and arch passing through the slits on the way. Viola! Something that looked like a sandal but wasn't. Perfect to get into a "No shoes, No service" spot. Made in 1967 for the anti-establishment soleless folks.and photo showing them being modeled (by me):
Hawaiian Sno-Shoes 301 Moose Hill Road Monroe, CT 06468A graphic is available at:
The River Studio, Inc. 1013 Azaleamum Drive Three Rivers, MI 49093 (616) 273-2488 (616) 273-3310 (FAX)There is also a Barefoot Sandals home page:
Author: Richard K. Frazine Publisher: Ten-Speed Press Year: 1993 ISBN: 0-89815-525-8 Price: $7.95 US Order direct: 1-800-841-BOOKIt's a "how-to" book on barefoot hiking, a very pleasurable experience. You get to feel the ground, soft soil, grass, fuzzy moss, and mud squishing between your toes.
But it's also on bare feet in general, thoughts, perceptions, attitudes, etc. It's a great little book...and at $7.95, it's a bargain.
[See Q21 for information on how to contact Richard.]
It expresses the way I and many other barefooters feel. An excerpt of this essay is available at:
Real-life stories, experiences, trip-reports, thoughts, feelings, and tips having to do with bare feet and barefootin' as well as upcoming barefoot-related events are the sort of material we discuss.They also have their own web page:
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