America's cultural addiction to shoes

This is from an article on the Washington post website. There are very interesting comments that follow the article.

Barefoot professor in Virginia preaches shoelessness


Daniel Howell, a biology professor at Virginia's Liberty University, is on a "crusade to challenge America's cultural addiction to shoes", according to a feature in the Richmond Times-Dispatch that has hit the wires.
Howell "likens the shoe to a cast that immobilizes an otherwise healthy foot and prevents it from functioning as nature intended," the article says.
His argument doesn't always go over well in restaurants. So he carries a letter from the state health department that says bare feet in a restaurant is not a health code violation.
Howell teaches biology at Liberty and is required to wear shoes in the classroom. He took to barefoot walking by way of barefoot running, a practice that is, by contrast, well within the bounds of social acceptability.
He is author of "The Barefoot Book: 50 Great Reasons to Kick Off Your Shoes".


http://voices.washingtonpost.com/co...professor_preaches_sh.html?hpid=moreheadlines

 

"There are very interesting comments that follow the article."
I prefer "disturbing" instead of "interesting" after having read the entire comments section -- not referring to the Positive Vibe ones supporting Free Will -- but the rest that spew hate and control (same thing). It's borderline scary how nasty people can be...

As well, shitty article writing, media manipulation again... Nowhere in either article do I see Daniel: Howell quoted as using the word "crusade". They made that term up and plastered him with it like he did say it, didn't they? That's a hell of an emotionally charged word and bound to offend people and make them nastily defensive, to subtly make them think his harmless, self-uplifting acts are like his waging war upon them.

 

I personally think that some of the negative commenters made good points but you're right most of them were just mean for the sake of being mean.

Also,

If I lived in DC within walking distance of a metro station? Damn right I would if I could. They keep that place remarkably clean. Even near the end of the day on a weekend during the summer tourist season the floors are nearly trash free except for the occasional plastic water bottle. And I bet the escalator would feel pretty interesting on my feet. It's just metal for God's sake it's not like I would kick the sharp pointy bits. I wouldn't do that with my shoes on.