Images of
the Week
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Images of the Week |
... will be provided here on a transient basis. Material will be here for about one week before being changed.
People often associate bare feet with poverty. However, I would think that issues such food, a safe place to sleep and medical care would be many, many times more important to people in these circumstances than whether or not they were shod. It isn't possible to know how many of these people are either barefoot by choice or would see the issue as having low relevance. Perhaps it is simply a matter of dispensing with the inessential. Cultural, climate and (of course) personal issues have a large affect on when the shoes are shucked. People have a need to categorize what they see. It helps us fill in the blanks without having to check everything all the time. It is a natural tool for mental survival. However, frequent errors of prejudice are the result. How do these images make you feel? I have mixed emotions. I am reminded on the one hand of the story of the "Prince and the Pauper", where the prince was delighted to switch circumstances, wear rags and roll in the mud without getting in trouble. On the other hand, shortage of food and shelter is nothing but awful. I am not concerned as such by their lack of footwear, although that is often what philanthropists fixate on.
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Scott's Run, West Virginia. Miner's child - This boy was digging coal from mine refuse on the road side. The picture was taken December 23, 1936 on a cold day; Scott's Run was buried in snow. The child was barefoot and seemed to be used to it. He was a quarter mile from his home. |
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Each of the images above has a full size version. Just click on the small version above.