The other night I was lamenting the fact that not wearing shoes meant I could not go into any store or restaurant. I had hastily gone with a friend to pick up dinner carryout and neglected to wear any footwear, as I thought I was just going along for the car ride. But it turned out there were a few stops to be made before and I had to wait in the car because of the whole “no shirt, no shoes, no service,” rule.
While waiting for my friend, I thought about how not wearing shoes in public is so unacceptable and how the rule was really ridiculous.
Hobbits don’t wear shoes. Sure, they are supposedly fictional characters, but nonetheless, they get around perfectly not wearing any form of footwear. So why can’t I?
I can see the hazards that can happen if you’re going to walk on gravel or another surface that could potentially injure your feet. But in general, why can’t you just not wear shoes in a regular building? Culturally, do we have something against feet?
I understand how there can be garbage on the ground and food waste and how stepping on that would be pretty nasty. But if you aren’t wearing shoes in the first place, I’d think you would be extra vigilant about making sure you aren’t stepping in gum or worse, animal excrement.
Luckily, others share my opinion. There is actually a Society for Barefoot Living, surprisingly. It’s an entire group of people who see living barefoot as a lifestyle choice. A support group, as well as more information about the organization can be found at www.barefooters.org.
The society says not wearing shoes does not violate OSHA codes.
“Barefooters sometimes hear that customers having bare feet in a business establishment is in violation of an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) regulation. It is not. OSHA regulates only employees, not customers,” according to the Society.
They also make the point that you may even be able to go shoeless to your job.
“Even so, OSHA requires footwear only in special circumstances. When it is required, it must meet specific standards and criteria. Therefore, there is no OSHA regulation preventing employees in many businesses to be able to work barefoot.”
All in all, if I lived in Middle-earth, I wouldn’t have to deal with not being able to go into Target only because I neglected to wear shoes.
