Adventures at the Smithsonian

I thought I’d write up something I dealt with way back in 1999. My family and I made a visit to the Smithsonian. I thought I was well-prepared—I knew they didn’t have a rule against bare feet.

Have you ever been surrounded by seven angry security guards?

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Library Adventures — Part 3

When last I wrote about my library adventures (here is Part 1 and here is Part 2) regarding my local library, the one that I’d been using barefoot for nearly 20 years, I’d gotten to the point of being tossed three times because of their new shoe rule. I’d been denied in my official appeal to the library director and invoked my right to appeal to the full library Board of Trustees.

Here we will get to the thrilling conclusion and denouement of this story.

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Library Adventures — Part 2

Last time, in Part 1, I described some of the background of my first lawsuit against a library. Writing that was prompted by my being ejected from my local Pickerington library for being barefoot, after nearly 20 years of being a barefooted patron there.

After my ejection (according to the director because I or another barefooted person might have Athlete’s foot and because they had kids on their floor, he could not take that risk) I wrote a letter to every member of the Board of Trustees.

And then . . .

Nothing happened.

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Library Adventures — Part 1

Folks know I have had my issues (i.e., lawsuit) with libraries. I love books and libraries and it offends me horribly that they seem to find it “necessary” to keep out perfectly good and well-behaved patrons simply because the patrons aren’t dressed the way the library wants, and because the library buys into silly myths.

Fortunately, during all that time I had a refuge in my local, small-town library. They didn’t have the selection of the big-city libraries, but I still had access.

However, that all changed this past November.

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The Rule of Three

Barefooters sometimes wonder what they can do to help diminish the impact of those in society who make it difficult to go barefoot in public. Sometimes it seems like an impossible task — I hear suggestions for a horde of barefooters to descend on a location. The trouble with that is that barefooters are pretty scattered (and they also tend to be rather independent).

But I came across a blog entry yesterday that suggests it might not be quite that hopeless.

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Not for the Best (Buy)

Folks may recall that I filed a complaint under the Americans with Disabilities Act against Best Buy after they called the police on me.

I finally got my official reply from the Department of Justice.

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Burien, WA Bans Bare Feet

Burien, WA is a suburb of Seattle. In August they passed an ordinance that essentially bans people from any conduct that is “dangerous, unsafe, illegal, or unreasonably disruptive” on all city property, both indoors and outdoors.

And they consider bare feet to be “unreasonably disruptive”.

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An Interview

I’m pulling out something from a few years ago, when I first started fighting the Ohio Statehouse when they wanted to institute a footwear rule. You can see all those posts here.

Along the way, I did a few interviews. I recently came across one I did for the NPR program Whad’Ya Know? with Michael Feldman.

It’s rather interesting.

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Not Kicked Off the Bus After All

Last Tuesday we saw the story of the woman who was supposedly kicked of a Columbus bus for having a broken flip-flip and going barefooted. While she was off the bus she was raped.

It turns out that she wasn’t kicked off after all.

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The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Barefooted

Last week, in Best Buy. Wussed Way., I promised I’d write about the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and how they might apply to (at least some) barefooters.

Let me do that now.

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Followup to “False Imprisonment”

Here is a bit more information on the situation I talked about yesterday, with an acquaintance being detained by police for being barefoot and shirtless late at night. I also got some questions that I would like to address.

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False Imprisonment for Being Barefoot?

A barefoot and shirtless acquaintance of mine from south Texas was recently detained by the police, simply because he was barefoot and shirtless (outside). He would like to know if this was false imprisonment, and whether had has a cause of action to sue them.

The answer, as is so often the case in these situations, is

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I Am Chortling

While I was at the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday, tiptoeing through getting a waiver for the day from their shoe rule, the Ohio General Assembly initiated an action that could unintentionally wipe it away.

So I am chortling.

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Taking Advantage of the Statehouse

Yesterday I needed to take a trip to the Ohio Statehouse for a look at some of the stuff available in their Museum Gift Shop.

Little did I know that by doing so I was taking unfair advantage of them.

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Arts, Beats & Eats — FAQ Updated

I am happy to report that the Arts, Beats & Eats Festival in Royal Oak, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit) has finally changed the FAQ on their web page. Bare feet are not longer prohibited.

But there is another related issue I’d like to write about.

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