Simple Rebuttals to the Shoe Police's Complaints

After getting stopped at Target recently for going barefooted, I thought of a few points I could have made to the manager in rebuttal to his reasoning for why I should be shod.

I thought it might be helpful to new and seasoned barefooters to have a "quick list" of points to make if the standard complaints are brought up while out and about in public. Each should be prefaced by something respectful and understanding along the lines of, "I appreciate your concern, but..."

Excuse: "It's a safety issue."

• Accidents happen and I realize that I take on risk when going barefooted into your establishment. If I were to injure myself and sue, no judge would find you liable.
• Customers usually go barefooted when browsing for shoes or trying on clothing. So they are also a safety risk and should not be allowed to do that?
• I have no greater risk of slipping and falling on a wet floor than many people who wear shoes or flip flops with smooth soles.
• If a tiny sharp object even remained on the floor after a cleanup, and if I didn't spot it and avoid it, it is highly unlikely that I'd be injured. Such an object would be so small that it would do no damage.
• If you are concerned about sharps left on your floors that would be big enough to injure me, you should train your employees better.
• What about the safety of your floors if a service animal enters? They can also fall on a wet floor or step on a sharp. According to ADA (in the U.S.), you are not legally permitted to request that they wear booties, so you are essentially giving me less consideration than some animals.
• My bare hands are at just as much or more risk of injury as my feet. I could hurt my hands on a broken corner of a display, cracked glass item, or something else. Should I also be required to wear gloves?

Excuse: "It's a health issue." OR "It's against health code."

• There are no health codes or laws that require that I wear shoes as a customer.
• I won't put my feet up on the table or displays just like I wouldn't put my shoes up there.
• My feet are cleaner than most people's shoes. I clean my feet at least daily. How often do you clean the soles of your shoes?
• I am not going to pick up diseases off of the floor through my feet.
• I'm more likely to get someone sick by coughing on them than through my feet.
• I'm more likely to get sick by someone coughing near me than through the floor.
  

Excuse: "The other customers don't want to see your bare feet."

• How would my feet be less offensive wearing sandals or flip flops?
  
• Then you need to ban all sandals, open-toed shoes and flip flops from your establishment.

Excuse: "It's indecent to go barefooted."

• What is indecent about feet, a part of the human body ?
  
• TV shows are allowed to show bare feet when private areas and curse words aren't allowed. Many people on shows from reality competitions to Sesame Street go barefooted.
• Decency is in the eye of the beholder and a vague concept. I find a lot of clothing that other customers wear to be indecent, but you allow them here. I may even find some of your products indecent, yet you sell them.
  
• Is it more decent for someone to come in with dirty clothing, nappy hair and smelling of body odor so long as they wear shoes?
  
• People used to think that it was indecent if women wore pants and black people used the same restrooms as whites. Society has become more understanding of many things that were once thought to be "indecent."

I welcome your comments, including anything you believe I should add, change or remove. We'll see. :-)

Photo: http://www.dawndance.org/volunteering.html