Fordomme

Der er mange myter og fordomme om at gå med bare tæer, men det meste er noget sludder.

• Det er ulækkert.

Det er ikke mere ulækkert at gå med bare tæer end at gå med sko. Man får kun sure tæer hvis man har sko på. Fødderne bliver godt nok lidt beskidte, men de fleste mennesker vasker fødderne hver dag. Hvor tit vasker du dine sko?

• Det er usundt.

  Det er absolut ikke usundt. Du styrker dine muskler, og fødderne får lov til at beholde deres naturlige facon i stedet for at få facon efter dine sko. Det er ikke ukendt at man kan få problemer med fødder, ankler og knæ hvis man går i forkerte sko. Det problem har man normalt ikke når man går med bare tæer. Hvis man går med bare tæer får man ikke fodsvamp og andre fodlidelser som trives bedst når fødderne er fugtige og varme.

  
  

• Det er farligt fordi man kan få splinter og glasskår i fodsålerne.

  Selvfølgelig skal man passe på, og se hvor man går. Man kan være uheldig at træde en splint op i foden, men risikoen ved at gå med bare tæer f.eks. i byen er ikke meget større end andre steder. Hvis man på stranden træder i en smadret flaske som ligger skjult i sandet, udretter det langt større skade end hvis man træder på et glasskår på gaden. Når man er vant til at gå med bare tæer bliver ens reflekser i fødderne intensiveret. Man mærker omgående hvis man er ved at træde i noget ubehageligt før det er for sent. I sandet på stranden har man ingen chance fro at træde til side før det er for sent. Hvis man går rigtig meget med bare tæer bliver fodsålerne hurtigt så robuste at man næsten kan gå hvorsomhelst. Det kræver bare lidt tilvænning, så hav tålmodighed hvis det i starten er ubehageligt at gå nogle steder.

  
  

• Man får vabler.

  Hvis man ikke er vant til at gå med bare tæer skal man måske være forsigtig i starten og medbringe nogle sandaler man kan bruge når fødderne ikke kan mere. Hvis man går med bare tæer jævnligt kan man gå næsten uendelig langt uden problemer. Vabler får man som regel først når man tager sko på.

  
  

• Det er kun for hippier.

  Måske var det sådan engang sidst i tresserne, men sådan er det ikke mere. Man kan bare kikke sig omkring på en varm sommerdag og se at alle mulige typer af mennesker går med bare tæer.

  
  

• 80 grunde til at gå med bare tæer (af Tiki Swain): 80 reasons

1. It feels good.
2. It's comfortable.
3. It's not illegal anywhere.
4. Shoes aren't the same shape as feet.
5. Just can't find any shoes that fit right.
6. Can't find any good and suitable Australian made shoes.
7. Can't find any shoes that aren't overpriced for their value.
8. Don't like the quality of the shoes they sell nowadays - they're just not made to last.
9. You want to protect your knees from damage in later life.
10. You want to protect your back from damage in later life.
11. You want to walk as nature intended, with all the health benefits that implies.
12. You've actually looked up what medical backing there might be for going barefoot, and can see the value.
13. You've damaged your knees through poor walking or hiking habits, and you want to treat them well.
14. You've damaged your knees, and you don't want it to be spread to your back through poor muscle use.
15. You want to strengthen your feet and legs.
16. You want to develop healthy and well-shaped feet, not deformed ones like that dance teacher you saw or your great-aunt.
17. You know that it doesn't make your feet big or ugly.
18. You like the sensitivity that being barefoot allows.
19. You value the environment around you.
20. You don't litter.
21. You've instilled the value of not littering in your children.
22. You appreciate the increased response and alertness you have to your surroundings.
23. You know that your increased awareness of your surroundings is more than sufficient to counter any possible hazards you might be increasing your exposure to.
24. You know that most "hazards" are equally dangerous to many types of shoes.
25. You like the feeling of being part of your environment rather than being separate from it.
26. You don't believe it's necessary to hold rigid control over the natural world.
27. You don't believe the natural world is hostile to humans any more than other animals which go without shoes.
28. You read about how Alpacas are being introduced as farm animals in WA because they don't have hard feet, so they don't damage our fragile soil, and you thought you could contribute to that too.
29. You like to leave soft footprints.
30. Too many shod people trampling carelessly were damaging your favourite nature reserve or park.
31. This is a great expression of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" - reducing your use of non-reusable, non-recyclable goods.
32. You don't raise yourself above other humans.
33. You don't feel the need to be superior or dominant over other people.
34. You don't feel the need to give in to other people's picture of right and wrong when their picture is just a little silly.
35. You remember how St. Francis preached humility.
36. You have a spiritual connection to the earth that you value.
37. You have a spiritual connection to God's creation that you value.
38. You don't believe in artificially separating yourself from what God made.
39. You remember how Jesus sent his disciples out with nothing but the shirts on their backs, and they lacked for nothing.
40. You feel that if this is how we were born, then it must be fairly sufficient for what we need - we weren't born with shoes.
41. You value the range of sensations that you can feel through your feet.
42. You understand how sensitive a tool you have in your soles, and you use it.
43. You feel that feet are like hands - why cover them?
44. You feel that feet are like hands - highly sensitive devices for exploring the world, and you wouldn't muffle your hands in hard leather or vinyl.
45. You feel that feet are like hands - the more you use them, the more skilled you become with them.
46. You read about the lady in one of those pop psychology books who never learnt to use her hands and felt they were just pieces of useless dough on the ends of her hands, and you didn't want your feet to be the same.
47. You understand that going barefoot is not unhealthy or unhygenic.
48. You know that there is no more dirt on a bare sole than on someone's shoe.
49. You know that skin is waterproof and disease proof, as long as it's intact. You even saw the sign at the Red Cross Mobile Blood Bank that said so.
50. You know that more germs are transmitted by hands than by feet.
51. You eat with your hands, not your feet, and you're quite capable of remembering to wash your hands before you eat.
52. You know that most of the diseases people tell scare stories about apply only to areas where fecal matter comes in contact with the water supply, and only apply if you step in fecal matter while it's still quite fresh, AND only if you've got open sores or cuts on your feet.
53. You know that being barefoot affects no-one else's health but your own.
54. You don't like the environmental record of shoe manufacturers, tanners, and other raw material producers.
55. You don't like the social record of large companies that employ third world workers on less than subsistence wages to make their shoes.
56. You don't like the hypocrisy you heard of where companies pay workers so little they'd never be able to afford the shoes they make, yet pay sports stars several million dollars a year just to wear them.
57. You don't like the fact that many of the manufacturers of shoes are located in countries with poor environmental protection legislation.
58. You read about the carcinogenic chemicals they use to produce shoes, which your feet have to be pressed up against all day every day.
59. The microbial action in warm enclosed areas like shoes is just too huge and gross. Talk about unhygenic!
60. Feet that have been in shoes smell. Bare feet don't.
61. Bare feet don't provide the conditions fungi such as tinea need to grow. It's possible to have the spores on your feet without having them grow, as long as you don't give them good growing conditions like shoes or socks.
62. Feet are made to last and shoes aren't.
63. You don't believe in supporting brand name culture
64. You don't believe in supporting excessive consumerism.
65. You believe in consumer rights through buying power - when the shoe manufacturers make what you like, THEN you'll buy it and not before.
66. You don't think life should be all about material possessions.
67. You think life should be about more than people looking at the way you dress.
68. You have more important things to do than play with your appearance.
69. You'd rather spend ninety dollars on going to the circus with lots of friends.
70. You'd rather spend ninety dollars on supporting the Save the Forest people, or the Museum, or whatever your favourite cause is.
71. You'd rather spend ninety dollars on the extras in your children's education, that make school and learning just that little bit better.
72. You don't believe in wasting money on things that are unsuitable or poor quality.
73. Children can do it, why can't I?
74. Light step, light heart.
75. You've found that you can work on your feet for hours at a time, and still be smiling and happy.
76. You went to an expo where there were a lot of people standing up trying to sell stuff, and the only one that didn't look grouchy and tired was the barefoot girl.
77. You treasure the extra energy that seems to come through your feet from the earth.
78. Your feet don't get tired as much.
79. It makes you feel livelier, more awake, more connected to living.
80. It's fun.