I’ve been
blogging for about 1.5 years now and one of my most viewed posts is Mean People
Suck (which is also one of my personal favorites). In the original post
I kept my responses to a minimum, but in this updated post I reply to every
comment. I hope readers of this blog recognize the lack of critical thinking
exhibited by the commenters and the logical fallacies they employ. The comments are also rather mean-spirited.
Clearly, these are frustrated people who can only talk this way under cover of anonymity.
If you read the original post, enjoy the comments again, and my replies this
time. :-)
My
comments are [in brackets].
1. Another idiot academic heard from. Go walk on broken
glass, MORON. Does this jerk have a Piled higher and Deeper degree? [I do have a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Va. Tech. I then
conducted biomedical research at Duke University Medical Center for 4 years and
McGill University for 2 years prior to joining the faculty at Liberty
University in 2003. I have a box of broken glass in my office; sometimes I
demonstrate barefoot walking on glass for students and visitors.]
2. Maybe he should just return to the planet of the apes,
where shoes are not a necessity. [That is a TV show;
there is no such planet. I prefer to live in reality, not TV world.]
3. The professor should get himself checked for hook
worms. They may be affecting his mind. [Hook worms were
a serious concern throughout the southeastern United States in the 1800’s and
early 1900’s. The parasite has been basically eliminated by the use of indoor
plumbing – and yes, shoes. Shoes are no longer necessary, however, because everyone
uses indoor plumbing and the contamination cycle has been broken. In order to
acquire hookworm, a person must step on fresh feces (less than 5 days old)
dropped in damp soil from an already-infected person. The likelihood of
acquiring hookworm in the United States today is extremely low – like winning a
lottery.]
4. He'd like to put tens of thousands, who make shoes,
out of work. Mainly very poor people in India. Never mind the sock makers. What
a loser! [And just think of all the poor tobacco
farmers and sellers we put “out of work” in the past decade. Perhaps they could
build windmills are something useful instead of body-harming products. It’s
okay… everyone wins in the end.]
5. if he gets his way, it will put all the women who are
making a better living for their families in Africa out of luck. Let's just
tell 'em: "Go back to being barefoot and pregnant!" [See comment #4]
6. This is why the Educational system in America is so
much a failure. Calling wearing shoes an "addiction" is just silly
and unworthy of academic inquiry. It is not even worthy of a 3rd grade
mentality. I suggest that the "professor" stop smoking pot, get a
real job and try to contribute something useful to society--if he actually has
the ability. The so-called 'university" is a sham to even allow this
embarrassing nonsense to go public. CERTAINLY A LEFT WING NUTCASE TOO. [I typically vote Republican, though I’m fed up with both
major parties. I don’t smoke pot, I do have a real job that often requires 60
hours per week or more of my time and I’m trying my best to contribute
something useful to society. Shoes are unhealthy; at least 90% of our foot
problems in this country can be traced back to our shoes, including athlete’s
foot, toenail fungus, hammer toe, bunions, hallux valgus, flat feet, corns and
blisters. Shoes are an addiction in the sense that people feel they cannot live
without them. If *you* think *you* can live without them, try it for seven
consecutive days. The addiction is not just personal, it’s primarily cultural.
If you choose to go seven days barefoot, please tell me about the experience.]
7. This IS a health issue - a mental health issue for
this wingnut. Parents beware of where you send your children.
"University" is the new pseudonym for "indoctrination camp"
that exposes young, dare I say it, inadequately prepared, minds to this sort of
idiotic "new-age" blather. Don't know much about Liberty (People's
Revolutionary Right-Mind Camp), but if they have instructors like this with
tenure, well ... [Liberty University does not offer tenure. I agree that most schools today
are “indoctrination camps,” especially public schools. Children are
indoctrinated, for example, to believe that wearing shoes is a modern necessity;
that going barefoot is harmful and often illegal. My goal is to end the
shoe-indoctrination. BTW, private schools – like Liberty University – are generally
less ‘politically correct’ and have less government intrusion, making them more
open to the free exchange of ideas.]
8. I invite this nut job to retrieve my mail in July and
August from my mailbox next to the asphalt road fronting my house. Next, I
invite him to discuss his penchant for barefootedness with his automobile
insurance company. Next, he's welcome to talk to a podiatrist or two about the
obviously complete fallacy of arch support for some individuals. How about a
Metro ride at rush hour? I could go on, but...why are these people invariably
found in universities? (Other than easy life, little or no pressure, taxpayer
funded/supported jobs, etc.). [I can easily walk on hot
pavement in summer while barefoot ; I have done so even in Houston in July. No
insurance carriers require drivers to wear shoes while operating a vehicle – do
the research yourself if you wish. I have ridden a metro barefoot. The
biomechanics of the foot arch is explained in my book and many podiatrists
around the world are realizing that immobilizing the arches in shoes is
harmful. Of all the commenters I list here; you mouth off the most about things
you know nothing about.]
9. Have you ever stepped into a fire ant hill in bare
feet, professor? Have you ever walked on pine needles? I could go on and on.
Shoes protect our feet from all kinds of hazards as well as keeping any cuts or
scratches from being exposed to dirt and germs. Just another loony liberal. [I have not stepped onto a fire ant hill barefoot, or in
shoes. I very much enjoy walking on pine needles and even pine *cones* if that’s
what you meant. Shoes are incubators for growing germs which is why is much
less “germy” to go barefoot. Cuts and scratches do happen rarely, both on my
feet and my hands. I am not a liberal; I’m a conservative.]
10. Maybe the post should have a regular feature where
they profile a "professor" from Liberty "university". It
would be more entertaining then the funny papers. (except when you consider all
the morons who pay money to go there) [One definition
of moron is ‘stupid people.’ Stupid people speak of things they know not. You
do not know Liberty University.* Therefore, you are a moron. *(You’ve never
been on the campus, talked with students or professors, read the assigned
textbooks, etc. You probably don’t know that LU is a fully-accredited institution
with a law school, engineering school, aviation school, award-winning debate
team, etc., and is the 8th largest university in America.) You also
don’t know the difference between “then” and “than.”]
11. Sounds like one of the loonies from woodstock.the
good old days no bathe,no shave,mary jane,drugs and rock n roll.now a
professor,this is an american success story [I was born
in 1969 so I’m a little too young for Woodstock. I’ve never endorsed the “hippie”
behaviors you describe]
12. I know there's gotta be a connection to the earth
only being 6,000 years old and the "professor's" bare feet.... [I don’t think there is.]
13. Shoes are required in places of business not for
health reasons, but for liability. Should he step on something and injure his
unprotected foot, the business is liable. This guy is an idiot. [I have not found a single insurance policy that requires
footwear of patrons in a business open to the public. Find one and prove me
wrong.]
14. Professor Howell's undergraduate education in biology
should have included a course in parasitology. Hookworns, roundworms,
whipworms, etc. - all can be acquired by walking barefoot in contgaminated
soil. [Perhaps *your* undergraduate education should
have included such a course. Sheesh.]
15. And this nutty professor has tenure. [Why do these people think I have tenure? I have never stated that I do because Liberty University does not offer
tenure. Well, you know what they say about “ass-u-me.”]
16. HELLO! Read the last sentence. He's selling a book!
This is not "news," it is self promotion. [Self-promotion
is promoting yourself. I did not write the article you commented on; the
Washington Post did. Sheesh.]
17. As a Liberty University graduate, I can assure you
that there is no requirement to sign or state that one believes in Creationism.
Also, I can tell you that most people at Liberty likely think this guy is as
much of a nut about the barefoot thing as those who do not go there. [Yep, I am hated on both sides of the aisle.]
18. I had a real professor at a real college whom didn't
wear shoes. But comparing RIT to Liberty is like comparing an educated Harvard
law scholar to a dingbat from Alaska. [Liberty has a
law school (founded in 2004) that is already one of the best in the nation. In
2010 Liberty was the only school to achieve 100 percent bar passage rate in the
state of Virginia: Washington & Lee was at 90 percent; George Mason, 84.8
percent; University of Virginia, 75 percent; and the College of William &
Mary, 73.3 percent. On the whole, LU is not comparable to Harvard, but neither
is RIT. Finally, I’m not sure what you have against Alaska; I’m from
Virginia.]
19. I hope the professor gets plantar fasciitis and then
see how he does with out shoes. [Going barefoot is the
best way to strengthen your feet and *cure* plantar fasciitis. However, PF may
occur during the rehabilitation stage when you first start barefooting.]
20. Nuts! What's this clown going to do during winter
time? What is he accomplishing other than to show what an eccentric he is? He's
a narcassist! What a waste! [Winters in Virginia are
pretty mild, so I can usually stay barefoot. When we have deep snow I wear
shoes, just as I wear gloves, coats, hats, etc., to keep warm. As I say in The
Barefoot Book, a shoe is a tool; use it when you need it. But shoes should not
be worn all day every day.]
21. Acadmia has truly become a safe house for the crazy,
couched in the guise of intellectualism. As bad as it was fifteen years ago,
acadamia seems completely awash in, make that saturated, with those not fit for
the mainstream workforce. Besides math and science, it is now important to
prepare our children for college by instilling in them skeptisism for every
word uttered by the "learned." This is particularly so for humanities
and fine arts professors. [I am a science professor,
though I do have a love for the humanities and the fine arts. Students (indeed
everyone) should have a healthy dose of “skeptisism" especially toward “acadmia",
but smart people have minds open to new ideas.]
22. As a physician, I think undergraduate university
professors in general are unsightly pieces of waste material whether we are
talking Liberty U or Harvard. [Honestly, I have similar
feelings for MD’s, but not DO’s.]
23. C'mon hippie, put on your shoes already for Christ
sake. You look like a frikin idiot!. [As a Christian, I
sincerely hope that everything I do is for Christ’s sake, but he told Moses to
take off his shoes (Ex.3:5) and sent out his disciples barefoot (Matt. 10:10),
so I don’t think Christ is opposed to my barefoot-is-best mentality.]
24. This "Barefoot Porfessor" is the perfect
example of the professorial personality: No Commonsense! [If by commonsense you mean “conventional wisdom” then I
confess to be a skeptic. The wisdom of the masses is often nonsense. ]
25. If this is not proof that these professors are just
useless. Hey have this idiot walk on some glass or on a Phoenix sidewalk when
the temps are 115. To think it costs thousands and thousands of dollars to send
a child to college to be taught by fools like this. Not sure it is worth the
money. [As I’ve stated in previous responses above, I
can walk pretty comfortably on both broken glass and hot pavement. College is
very expensive and (for some majors) may not be worth the investment, but then
colleges do not exist to be job-prep houses, they exist to insure an educated
populace; a crucial component for any democracy.]
26. What a worthwhile endeavor. This will surely enrich
our society. I will now crusade against the evils of sunglasses and all will be
well. [I’m not aware of any “evils” or harm caused by
the use of sunglasses, but shoes are responsible for the majority of our foot
problems in the USA. Good luck on your crusade.]
27. As A Biology professor, does he realize he takes a
very large risk of contracting hepatitis C from going barefoot??? [Blood transfusion and intravenous drug use are the leading
causes of HCV infection. Going barefoot is never listed as even a minor cause
of HCV from every source I’ve checked, so… NO, I don’t realize that I’m taking
a “very large risk” of getting HCV by going barefoot because, well, I’m NOT. I
hope *you* are not a biology professor.]
28. Just what America needs, another leftwing loon. [You obviously know nothing about Liberty University,
founded in 1971 by the Reverend Jerry Falwell. I am a rightwing loon.]
29. And these crazy nut job "professors" are
teaching our next batch of Democrats. No wonder we are in such bad shape. [As stated above, I teach at Liberty University, a
conservative Christian university. The majority of our students are pro-life,
pro-gun, pro-family rightwing Republicans.]
30. Hey Danny Boy, Amen and Amen, but first we need to
ban the use of neck ties. First things first. What do you do in winter? [I hate neckties almost as much as I hate shoes. On mild
winter days I go barefoot. On very cold days or in deep snow I wear shoes.]
31. If you want to walk around with your feet sticking
out, go to the jungle or the desert where this makes some sense. Otherwise, in
modern paved society, civilized humans who have fully evolved wear shoes and
socks. Forcing other people to see and smell your feet is not civilized
behavior. [Only about 200 milliseconds of thought are
needed to see that the paved streets, sidewalks and polished or carpeted floors
in America are much more conducive to barefooting than a jungle or a desert,
but you may not be capable of that much sustained thinking. Our civilized society has an unhealthy obsession
with shoes and socks and that’s precisely what I’m trying to point out. Feet do
not smell; shoes smell because they are incubators for bacteria and fungi
(okay, *your* feet smell because you stuff them in shoes all day). Are people
who wear flip-flops “forcing other people to see” their feet?]
32. The reaon for shoes is to keep the feet warm and
protect them from injury. For a professor, he appears to be ideological and not
realistic or "smart". [Yes, the “reaon” for
shoes is to keep the feet warm and protect them from injury. Gloves are used
for the exact same purpose for the
hands. Do you wear gloves all day, every day?]
33. The term 'whack job' comes to mind. [I guess I have no response to this.]
34. The professors opinion on going barefoot will
abruptly change one he gets planters warts on the bottom of his feet. [The virus that causes plantar warts may be picked up by
walking barefoot, but those who *stay habitually barefoot* are at very low risk
of contracting infection. Those who put on shoes are at an increased risk of
infection because the shoe is a warm, stale, dark, moist environment that
inhibits the anti-microbial nature of the skin (and the desiccating effects of
wind and sunshine).]
35. Quite silly. One hopes that he is not paid on the tax
payer's dime. He should come up here to Canada and walk through the snow
barefoot. That should clear his head. [I work at a
private university and do not receive taxpayer money. I lived in Montreal for 2
years.]
36. I am not surprised! I have a suspicion that being
infected with hook worms affects the brain. I thought it only effected southern
evangelist preachers. Now it seems it has spread to collage professors to. [Hook worm has been essentially eradicated from the USA, and
hookworm infection does not affect the brain.]
37. Even the Dharma Initiative wore shoes. And they were
on an island with a nice beach. They were a lot more sensible than that Daniel
Howell fruitcake. BTW, could he be related to Thurston Howell III? If I recall
correctly, even Thurston wore shoes while on Gilligan's Island. [The Dharma Initiative? Gilligan’s Island? Dude, you live
TV-land. Turn it off and come back to the real world.]
38. Walk barefoot if you want and leave us alone! Yet
another self-appointed people-annoyer... [Oh, the irony.
I have often been kicked out of malls, restaurants, etc. for being barefoot. I
would LOVE to walk barefoot and BE LEFT ALONE.]
39. Who do you think that this wacked-out person voted
for in the last presidential election? Now you know why this country is
screwed. [It’s really none of your business who I voted
for, but it was *NOT* Barrack Obama.]
40. I wonder if he's ever flown on a commercial flight
and had to use the restroom? Moonbat.
[I have flown on
commercial flights barefoot. I have also been kicked off of commercial flights
barefoot. I guess you missed my discussion of this on the TODAY Show. I usually
can avoid public restrooms and I won’t use one barefoot if it’s so dirty I
wouldn’t use it shod. Many public restrooms are actually clean; they don’t pose
any hazard.]
41. Seems all the nutjobs aren't in politics after all.[That is correct, there are nutjobs everywhere. I think there
may even be one where you work.]
42. Why even give this clown faux legitimacy with an
article about him? It boggles the mind. My cat is more newsworthy for the fact
that it cleans its netherregions each day. Professor Stoogotz, as my grandmother
would have called him, comes from the same class of folks who hailed Obama as
the new Messiah. We see how well that one turned out.
[One more time, I’m a conservative Republican; I did *NOT* vote for Obama. I do
wish that going barefoot was a non-issue and un-newsworthy.]
43. Yeah, I want to see his filthy feet in a restaurant
or classroom... yet another hippy moron teaching our kids.... Dogs also don't
wear shoes. Maybe this guy was raised in a small village in Kenya... [A small village in Kenya? I have some excellent students
from Kenya; your remark would probably strike them as racist. I guess you also
hate to see feet in flip-flops in a restaurant or classroom?]
44. It's the public health, stupid. One small step for
bare footers, and a giant leap for diseases. Shoes are like foot condoms in the
public health field. If you walk among strangers and defecating animals, then
friends don't let friends do it bearback. Not that there is anything wrong with
diseases and worms. [There is a very low incidence of
bacterial and fungal infections in people who habitually go barefoot. By
contrast, athlete’s foot and toenail fungus are rampant in the shoe-wearing
population (just browse the foot care products at your local pharmacy). Bare hands *are* a public health hazard; I
think you should wear gloves all day to protect me from your nasty hands that
you used to pick your nose with.]
45. What a poser. Until he gets out in the wilderness,
including desert and snow and ice, like that barefoot hippie minimalist
survival guy Cody Lundin, this guy's done nothing. [I’ve
been living barefoot for years and hiked/traveled on many different terrains
barefoot, so I do have something on Cody.]
46. It is telling of the smug personality type of those
taking up seemingly Innocuous Lifestyle Choices to eventually become hectoring
proselytizers. Same with about 90% of vegetarians. It's not about them
"doing their own thing," but trying to convince the rest of their
moral one-upmanship. Give it a rest. [Again, oh the
irony. I would love it if *you* and everyone else would let me walk barefoot
and *leave me alone.*]
47. I guess the idiot never heard of hookworm. [I have heard of hookworm, and –unlike you – I actually understand
its epidemiology.]
48. Howell tells us how to solve the problems of the
world, problems he avoided by becoming a professor. I seriously doubt that he
would go barefoot in a New York taxi cab. [I have been barefoot in a New York taxi
cab, on my way to my interview on the TODAY show].
49. A
kooky suggestion today, a serious one tomorrow, a demand the next, and after
that, Obama takes over the shoe industry and shuts it down. That's how the
liberal mind works.I've said it before and now is a good time to repeat it: The
bastards want us all to walk to work everyday on dirt paths in our bare feet. [I don’t know why everyone thinks I’m a liberal, but from the
way these apparent conservatives behave, maybe I’ll become one.]
50. [And finally…] The article doesn't allude to
the prof's politics, but I suspect that he's just another kooky hippie leftist.
He's not content with just doing something different and going about his
business. He has to preach at people that EVERYBODY should be doing it! They're
not content to simply mind their own business, drive their Priuses, forego
deodorant, avoid eating meat, live in their eco-huts, etc. etc. etc. Seriously,
why do the hippies think they have to compel everyone else to do things their
way? [OH THE
IRONY. All I’ve ever wanted was to go barefoot and be left alone].
