A Backwards Look at Liability
I’ve been told on several occasions to be careful how I promote barefoot activity. The concerned persons say I might end up liable if people end up hurting themselves. This is a completely backwards and thoroughly confusing concept to me.
How is it that our society’s collective thinking has gotten so twisted that we now believe that I could be liable if people use their feet as nature intended and that shoe companies are free from liability for weakness, stiffness, skin conditions and other ailments that are caused or exacerbated by their products? Do you see how topsy turvy that thinking is?
Things That Make You Go Hmm…: The Barefoot Edition
One of the most frustrating things for me as a barefooter is that so many of the claims criticizing barefoot activity are made without the critics giving any thought to what they are actually saying. I know that the following observations are a bit snarky and pointed, but they’re worth thinking about:
Lots of people have told me that they successfully went barefoot “all the time” as a kid, playing on rocks and gravel, in dirt, and around all kinds of dangerous things. Then they insinuate that the flat, smooth surfaces of the adult world (e.g. concrete, asphalt, tile, linolium and carpet) are too dangerous for going barefoot.
Hmm…
Inspiring Video “Barfuss Blues” – all the way from Germany!
This has been around for a while but it remains current for all of us barefooters. Hope we can all be inspired by it.
video courtesy of bar-fuss.net
Barefoot Basketball
Sixteen-year-old Bien explains how life was different in the Philippines, in particular, the way he played basketball.
Daniel Lieberman – Harvard Professor on Barefoot Running
This has been around the net for a few months but I thought it’d be interesting to share anyway:
Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman has ditched his trainers and started running barefoot. His research shows that barefoot runners, who tend to land on their fore-foot, generate less impact shock than runners in sports shoes who land heel first. This makes barefoot running comfortable and could minimize running-related injuries. Read more here and find the original research here
