Let me just say that I wrote this post late at night so I apologize for any typos you might see. Also this post may and probably does contain strong language, extreme sarcasm, rude language, and hostile remarks towards Toms Shoes. Don't like it? Get over it.
Alright, my long delayed position on Toms, and their One Day Without Shoes campaign. Last year Toms slogan for this day was "It's Hard Without Shoes." This is one of the MANY lies that Toms tells American consumers to make money off of them and spread myths about what it is to be barefoot. This poster pretty much sums up what kind of company Toms is. Piece by piece I will rip this propaganda apart.
"Most children in developing countries grow up barefoot whether at play...blah blah...THESE CHILDREN ARE AT RISK." Really Toms? They're at risk? Are you saying that I, someone who has been barefoot for just under a year have tougher feet than kids in third world countries who have never owned a pair of shoes? I don't think so...
Now...this would appear to be me barefoot standing on a pile of glass...but...my feet have not burst into flames and I am not writhing in pain from lacerated, and infected feet...how is this possible?
"CONSTANTLY AWARE of THE GROUND IN FRONT OF YOU," Um...is that a bad thing? There was a girl in my city who tragically was killed because she was texting, listening to an iPod, and had her hood up. She was hit by a bus. If she was aware of her surroundings she might be alive today. The reason I bring up this grizzly story is to prove a point. Is it better to numb yourself to the world around you, or use what you were born with to navigate though it.
Almost by magic I am able to walk through the basement of this long abandoned fire control station in Galilee, Rhode Island without injury. On the ground you can see glass, concrete fragments, wood planks, fencing, wire grates, and all sorts of "hazardous" debris. I simply look where I am going and if something looks dangerous I DONT STEP ON IT!
The next claim "Suffering Regular Cuts & Scrapes,"Dear God can you get any more dishonest? TOMS, I am half way through your poster and I don't need to go on anymore to come to the conclusion you are a despicable lying for profit company masquerading as some sort of charitable foundation. You make me sick. Though it pains me to do so, I will read on through this poster and continue to address its claims. Ok, back to the claim at hand. Alright...maybe you people who just took your shoes off for the first time, you may get cuts and scrapes, but for those who choose to live barefoot, cuts and scrapes are almost a non issue.
If the glass, concrete fragments, and other debris didn't hurt me, the splintery frame of a house under construction must have loaded my feet full of splinters and rusty nails...um that would be a no...no cuts & scrapes. If you don't believe me ask any barefooter. The lies are piling up Toms...
"Tending to Infection After Each Walk," OH MY GOD INFECTIONS NOW START, DEVELOP, AND MANIFEST THEMSELVES IN THE TIME IT TAKES TO WALK FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER!"Well, clearly we are screwed...not just barefooters, if infections suddenly work like that we are all clearly going to die. Now consider this...as I understand it, for an infection to happen there generally has to be some sort of open wound. I could be wrong on that but thats sort of an as far as I know thing. Anyway, this one is to all the women that are reading. How many of you have worn a shoe that gave you a blister or a sore? I have too, but I feel like women's shoes do this more. Anyway now lets look at the shoe, warm, dark, and moist, now that great little African kid gets his new pair of Toms, gets a blister because his feet are not used to being confined in shoes and we have the perfect recipe for an infection.
Still thinks Toms is so great?
"And Enduring Not Only Enduring Terrain, but Heat & Cold." Enduring terrain? Are you kidding me? Ask any barefooter, we become connoisseurs of all different kinds of terrain. We seek out new things to step on and feel. To someone who lives barefoot stepping on things hardly ever is uncomfortable. Now to the heat and cold. I have no pictures for heat, but I can say that it really is not that difficult to walk on even asphalt on a hot day, that said, there are always ways around it, stepping on the white, running, or walking around. Cold however, I have many pictures of.
While I am not aware of anywhere in africa not on the top of a mountain where snowfall is common...I think this picture very well illustrates that to a barefooter, snow is not a problem. So I've gone down this poster and in my opinion torn down every claim Toms makes, now to the meat of my rant. (Yes there's more. No I am not sorry).
Toms One Day Without Shoes is an event held every year to raise awareness of the suffering of children all over the world who have no shoes. As you can see, Toms has quite a brilliant team of marketers and spin doctors. Their One Day Without Shoes event really plays right into their hands. It is important to remember that Toms IS has been and always will be a FOR PROFIT company. Shoes weaken the feet. To anyone who is not familiar with me or the barefooter movement that may sound strange. Consider this though, when summer comes and you take your shoes off, it hurts at first, but as the summer goes on it becomes easier. Your feet were weakened all winter by shoes and they have to retrain themselves back up to their natural strength. So the One Day Without Shoes, taking place in April, is a great time to schedule it. While people's feet are still weak from a winter in shoes, but warm enough to get participation. People take off their shoes for a day and try to get an idea of what it feels like for those kids who have no shoes. Naturally, most of the people think it hurts, think its awful and hard. Trust me, that is not what barefooters think and it is not how we feel. The ground is not our enemy as it is with the chronically shod.
Toms neglects to mention that it would take months of conditioning to get anywhere close to what the lifelong barefoot feel underfoot. But this shock factor plays into their hand and sales of Toms shoes rise. People feel false pity for those who have far healthier feet than they could ever dream of having.
Now back to what I mentioned, shoes make the foot weak. Not only do they do this, but they cause both short-term and long-term damage all over the body. This phenomenon is well documented and scientifically substantiated. The scientific evidence that shoes improve overall health? I haven't seen any have you?
Wearing shoes only breeds dependence on shoes. As your feet weaken they become more and more dependent on the padding and support they provide. I would hate to see those poor children in africa twenty or thirty years from now suffering from collapsed arches, hammer toes, foot fungus, arthritis, and a whole list of maladies only people in the west seem to get. It is interesting that we "civilized" and "advanced" cannot see what some of our devices are doing to our health.
That next generation of Africans may grow up in shoes, a whole new array of health problems will rise. I just hope before that happens the mainstream media and medical "experts" will intervene and put a stop to "charitable" organizations like Toms. The minimalist movement is gaining speed, while I see it as shoes companies trying to save their sinking ship by marketing to the timid, I would rather see a woman in five fingers than 6" stiletto heels. That is just needless self destruction. One has to pick their battles and take any small victory when it comes their way.
For extra food for thought, I have some more well thought out, less sarcastic, and more professional articles written on the subject.
Alright well html links are being uncooperative so I will just let you copy and paste. Also the second seems to have disappeared from the internet but if I find it I will link it.
http://primalfootalliance.squarespace.com/blog/our-position-on-toms-one-day-without-shoes.html
Remember folks.
Barefooting is easy
Barefooting is good for you
Barefooting is NOT illegal
Join the revolution
GO BAREFOOT
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