Here’s one more cartoon about kids going back to school after a summer of going barefoot. In response to last week’s cartoon, Hadashi commented:
You know the common theme I am getting with all these comics is that people actually KNOW that shoes are doing bad things to their feet, they KNOW that the shape of shoes is wrong AND that going barefoot feels much better than wearing shoes, yet in every one they still insist on shoes! And even imply that the FOOT is the problem!
Yes. They know what shoes do to feet, but conformity is more important.
This cartoon is from “All in a Lifetime” published on September 9, 1938.
All in a Lifetime, September 9, 1938
Ahcuah 
Yeash, you weren’t kidding. Told off for going barefoot.
You know, my mother keeps giving me that advice. I haven’t listened yet though.
Oh hey, so she’s 0k with the dog going barefoot – lol.
It’s actually worse than being told off for going barefoot. It’s being told off for not smashing his feet into shoes to properly ruin his feet.
Ho yeah, you are right about that.
well yeah. All of the above, BUT, the most important: This cartoon is documented proof that our ancestors ie. grandparents/greatgrandparents actually LIKED going barefoot, and did it by choice. In addition, they went barefoot aaallll summer long without a) catching some terrible disease or B) permanently damaging their feet. (ya’ know, the dreaded glass chard or rusty nail. . . )
But those same greatgrandparents forced their children into shoes, isn’t it ironic?
They may also have employed childraising measures that they hated as a child, but that’s off topic for this blog …
Crude analogy: “Stop that groaning and smoke the whole cigarette. I told you weeks ago to get used to smoking gradually.” – from a habitual smoker who at the same age wouldn ‘t ever think of starting to smoke …
Now, shoes aren’t like tobacco, they actually have a use, in certain seasons and situations. But even then they shouldn’t be of the type that instantly kills your feet! For many years, the shoe industry has been trying to sell us the impossible: mass produced shoes of a standard shape that are supposed to be good for our individually grown feet. When in reality there is no “perfectly fitting shoe”, the best thing we can hope for are shoes that won’t leave us like the boy in this picture after a walk around the block.
Honestly, I don’t think there really is a situation that calls for something a caveman couldn’t cook up with deer hide – and the only real situation where you would need even that is if it’s snowing. And even then there will be people whose feet are so strong and well-heated that snow just feels a bit cold and soft to them. (The ‘ice man’ guy would be an example)
Sorry if that was a bit vague, but what I meant by that was that I think that all we should wear in winter is a kind of very, very loose ‘bag’ over our feet, just to keep them warm. Basically – a mitten.
In Dual Survival, Cody Lundin just put on a few pairs of wool socks. And did just fine.
Yeah, that’s basically the idea, though I was thinking a little more waterproof.