I made a post in r/Sarasota asking for places where I can walk barefoot in Sarasota, and marked the post as "Special Needs Assistance". In the post, I explained why every shoe I tried caused me pain, and that I need to walk more to bring my blood sugar down. These are just a few of nearly 100 comments that were either hate-filled, ignoring my needs, making fun of me, off-topic, and several posts insinuated I belong in a mental institution. Someone said I was a Furry, and suddenly everything I posted got downvoted several times immediately. Many of those comments have been removed, along with the post, so I can no longer show you, but many others have seen this and saw the issues. Along with these terrible comments, there were many that showed support, help, and genuine assistance:
So, Reddit is filled with hotly judgmental and terrible people, and online communication turns most people into assholes... but what about the people who work with us and know us? Despite my pleas, I was barred from entering Mote Marine Laboratories and Aquarium barefoot to make an update to the Manatee Quiz game. I was bombarded by e-mails the day I was supposed to arrive, telling me to just give them the files digitally. The only way I can see the projects I made for Mote now is to be in pain.
I've always wondered why so many people act so hateful about bare feet in the first place. They claim these policies are meant for our own safety, but I've walked 77 miles barefoot in the last 5 weeks, more than I had all last year, and for the first time in my life I'm walking without pain. The most pain I felt in the last 5 weeks was reaching inside my wallet and getting a business card trapped underneath my fingers. But every business I go has business cards and allow bare hands without issue.
Then, I came across an interesting book:
The book shows studies that, with a greater degree of accuracy than any other metric, with over 90% certainty, people who have traits expressing openness (a genetic trait found in many LGBT people), tend to be a modern-day Democrat (the book was written in 2012, so this is what "Democrat" meant around that time). And people who are closed-minded overwhelmingly tend to be Republicans. This trait is defined as someone who is willing to change their mind when presented with new information. I recall seeing the differences in this trait very clearly from an argument between Bill Nye, science educator and aerospace engineer, and Ken Ham, a young-earth creationist. When asked if they were willing to change their minds when presented with new information, Bill Nye said yes! Show me the fossil that proves something we don't know, and I will change. Ken Ham said he didn't believe any new information would ever make him change his mind.
Researching history, I find this trait prevalent, and having it in half the population does explain a lot. There were the witch-hunters and angry mobs, and there were the people who denounced witch trials as not following sound logic or law, and people who investigated how the Salem Witch Trials started discovered it was a slave master who beat his slave Tituba into giving false testimony. But the people responsible for publishing the book waited until long after the trials were over. It upended hundreds of people's lives. This "problem" with humanity is one I have discussed greatly, and seen plenty of, even in crowds that are supposed to be open and welcoming. Why do so many people throw a fit over art they don't like? Why do people call others pedophiles without evidence? Why does the whole world flip upside-down just because someone kissed their boyfriend in a hotel lobby? And then attempt to continue justifying that hatred, today, in a post-Modern Family world with the full knowledge that some people are simply born not capable of intimately loving the opposite sex? Why does everyone attack LGBTQ youth? Why do they attack barefooters? Why do they attack Diabetics and deny us single payer healthcare, or food stamps, or the medical accommodations we need to live? Why, when presented with sound history, logic, and evidence, do people insist on believing the wrong things and discriminating against others? Why, when given a proverbial easy button to make life better for so many people do so many choose the opposite, and make life worse?
It's because some people literally can't learn, or change.
I'm not sure of the solutions, here. Critics of the book said it calls for eugenics, and completely altering the behavior of humanity is a dangerous undertaking with consequences we cannot foresee. But understanding some people have ingrained learning impairment and behavioral issues helps us at least navigate our life among people who can't make sound, logical sense. I'm able to walk pain-free for the first time in my life only when barefoot. This is because my legs cannot handle the strain of improper biomechanics, which shoes invariably contribute to, by changing posture, limiting muscle development and movement, cutting sensations, and adding weight and thickness that all requires extra adjustments without proper feedback. Given all the shoes I tried, some worse than others, but always leading to the same problems, the fact that I cannot safely or comfortably wear shoes is a completely undeniable fact about my life that some people just won't accept.
After my case with Publix got escalated to no avail, I pulled my prescriptions to a closer, more local pharmacy willing to work with me and let me walk barefoot. I now have physical locations I can go for most of my services and needs. Hobbit, a 60-year-old barefooter offered to take me on a trip to Myakka River State Park (will post this soon!). The ground was soft and soothing. And most of it was a lot better for my feet than abrasive concrete and asphalt! I'm now officially a barefoot hiker! Posting these photos with people who support barefooting, I see a lot more positive response, and my life has gotten so much better! Not everyone will accept that. But as long as we have friends who care about us, we can receive the support we need to be able to live, and the world will never be completely without hope.
r/Sarasota unbanned me in the last few hours. But... I really don't want to step foot in that place again. The way it's run, the way moderators brush off harassment as not something they're going to moderate, it's really not the place for me. There are so much better communities and so much better people I can spend my time with. And I have a much better time learning from them.
Reach out to others. If you receive no better a response, after explaining yourself once or twice, have nothing more to do with them. For they have already judged you, and they are incapable of change. Be wary as they might appear changed to you in order to remain in your good graces. But I prefer to surround myself with people who genuinely love and accept me. The real me. They are out there, and they do exist! Find those kind people, and call them your friends. Those people are genuinely good. That's my wisdom for you this Christmas Eve.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
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