From: Ken Saxton
Subject: Why wear shoes?
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 09:19:52 -0800 (PST)

On Sun, 8 Mar 1998, Brittney wrote:

> ... was cool, and asked why i was going barefoot ... I wasnt sure what to say
> ...there are a myriad of reasons for going barefoot ... but what do you say
> to someone who is interested but doesnt want to hear a 3 hour explanation?

Try asking, why they wear shoes? This puts the shoe on the other foot,
so to speak. My experience has been that this helps balance out the
discussion, so that others don't feel like their being "preached" to about
the "evils" of shoes. Their most common reply is, "for protection." Which
gives me some idea where to start explaining why I don't wear shoes. For
example, I can explain that my feet don't need protection from normal use.
It is what they were designed for. If I wear shoes, my feet become
blistered, deformed, smelly, weak and prone to disease. If I don't wear
shoes, my feet stay strong and healthy.

More importantly, asking the shoe-wearer why they wear shoes, could make
them think about and question there own choice, often for the first time.
I have similar situations with being vegan. To boost my own confidence, I
only need to remember that, unlike most people, my footwear and dietary
choices are the result of personal experience and much research and
reflection. While their own choices are often the result of just "doing
it" because, most other people do.

You may not convert them, but if they start to think, you have planted a
seed in fertile soil, and often gained some respect for having actually 
put some thought into your own choices (a rare thing in todays world).

-ken saxton
Home page; http://daydream.ee.csulb.edu/~ksaxton/
Running Barefoot page; http://daydream.ee.csulb.edu/~runbfoot/