I don’t ever want to see male toes, although women can take ‘comfy feet on the aircraft’ too far as well. No matter whether you agree with me or not surely we can find common ground that you really need to put shoes on before walking into the lavatory.
The since-closed Alitalia Boticelli lounge at Milan Malpensa used to have cold water only and a clogged drain. When you were lucky enough to get a ‘shower kit’ (towel) that included “build your own flip flops” to wear inside because you wouldn’t want your feet to touch the ground.
But fake flip flops aren’t meant for wearing out in public as a man learned when he was stopped by police at the Brisbane airport.
The culprit in question was caught out bare-footed but had drawn straps on his feet with a marker pen to make it seem like he was wearing thongs.
The police even suggested they were ready to detain offenders committing such a crime.
A Facebook commenter wrote,
In the criminal justice system, thong based offenses are considered especially heinous.
In Australia, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Thongs Unit. These are their stories
Other commenters referred to the man’s “soleless” act, and suggested that at least he wasn’t wearing socks with them though to me that would be better (as long as the socks were later disposed of properly).
Qantas lounges don’t allow thongs or bare feet. That strikes me as reasonable. But you don’t often hear of minimum dress standards in airports. It usually takes a naked woman running through the airport to get police involved.
As a long time reader, I’m a little disappointed by this post. It comes across as moderately sexist. I’m sure that’s not how it’s intended, but it seems unfortunate to me.
@Cdd89 – I do believe that male and female dress standards are different. care to elaborate on the offense you’re taking to that? happy to have the discussion.
Hmmm… can this be qualified as racist treatment to aborigines who want to dress in their original outfit?
As if I can hear them saying, “hey! This is our land! Why we must follow your weird dressing habit? Know your place! Its lucky we are kind enough to accept prisoners and criminals here….”
In Australia we refer to such people as ‘bogans’. Sadly, they’re out there…
Man or woman feet are dirty and should cover when on a plane cor both the individuals sake and the sake of others. Airlines need to have standards and those who fail follow them need to deplaned before departure or told in flight. If they fail to conform they should fined and band from.the airlines for no less than a year for minor offenses and longer to be completely banded cor life for more severe. At this point they will be forced to grow up and be adults
This is a highly racists and sexist post by a white male pig who will say he has done nothing wrong
well, feet can be nasty dirty and have gross toenails
but if you find that gross do we exclude oversize people with tank tops .So what is worse, feet tucked under the seat or a big armpit in your face as a big guy wearing a tank top puts his carryon overhead?
The hoi poloi will always find a way to be gross.
Jojo & Cdd89,
Please get a life! I have read this blog for many years and there are many things that Gary gets into that I disagree with, but calling him a racists and sexist is way over the top. Understand that some folks can even find such issues with silence!
These comments branding folks with such labels is so sad.
I am 73 years of age, and I was brought up that you held doors for ladies, you didn’t use profanity around children or ladies, etc. Incidentally I hold doors for everyone. Currently there are times when I hold a door for lady and I really think that want to attack me……let alone (God Forbid) they should say thank you. It is sad, sad world when every action and comment can be twisted around to make a negative out of what should be accepted as one human being attempting to treat another with “common courtesy”. Get a real life please!!!
I saw a similar idiot at Bush International in Houston. I assumed it was a tattoo not magic marker.
Feet are cleaner than shoes. You wash your feet more often than you wash your shoes. In AU its actually normal to walk around in public barefoot, it doesn’t have the same stigma it does here. I wouldn’t be surprised if the man thought he could do so in the airport, and when he found out there was a rule against it, tried to just draw these lines on his feet to solve the problem. This is such a non-news story, I can’t believe we are even talking about it. Anything Gary can do to talk about bare feet apparently…I think its the 100th time that first barefoot on the bulkhead picture has appeared in the blog.
“Feet are cleaner than shoes. You wash your feet more often than you wash your shoes. ”
…. and there it is. There’s a Joelfreak in every bunch.
Your dog’s mouth is cleaner than yours too. Right?
First, I certainly didn’t say racist (that was someone else), but yes, in my opinion, it does seem a little sexist.
To the extent that these are just personal views/preferences, I can’t really argue with you – everyone’s entitled to those. And in fairness, you haven’t explicitly said anything beyond personal preference. But it’s the step further – of suggesting that women are allowed to while men are not – that edges the line in my opinion. Maybe it’s my misreading (if so I apologise); but the first time I read it, I sensed that implication there, which is what flirted with that boundary for me. To restrict behaviour there have to be pretty compelling logical or cultural reasons, and I really don’t think that’s there in the case of feet as compared with other body parts.
Now, do bare feet have any place on a plane? No way… and I say that regardless of gender. On that I’m sure you can agree!
If a certain sort of dress is expected in airports or on airplanes, notice should be given, at least as in the Qantas sign in the photo accompanying the story. Given the variation in cultures and dress standards around the world, those managing airports and those setting policies for airlines owe those using either or both adequate notice. Printing the rules and regs in 8 point type somewhere on the back of a flyer, leaflet, or ticket won’t do. The days of noblesse oblige are long past; besides, it never applied to the hoi poloi..
Amazing how some people don’t want to believe that the us ways are the only ways. See this buzzfeed article about how Ausies just don’t always wear shoes… I know, stunning. https://www.buzzfeed.com/natalyalobanova/this-is-the-weirdest-thing-about-australia
What I said is factual, even if you can’t wrap your head around it.
Funny stuff but actually I have a huge pet peeve about the poor choice of footwear at airports. It not like you aren’t going to walk like 3 miles at the airport and it’s always some person with flip flops or something like that holding up the line or tripping over the escalator, etc. Now that makes me sound like a bad guy but imagine trying to evacuate a burning plane with some Ed Hardy T-Shirt dude blowing out his flip flops in front of you at the exit. Seriously. Sorry I know I sound hateful.
@joelfreak
Lol. Buzzfeed is a joke…. hahahaha
Funny that this article came today. It just so happens that my flight was delayed with an unidentified departure time. So I sat at the gate for an hour observing the passing masses. I must say it is quite incredible how some people dress to fly. One guy with cut-offs, t-shirt, thongs, and a baseball cap worn backwards – he must be the catcher – looked like he was on his way to a pick-up basketball game. I couldn’t help wondering how much time he put in deciding his choice of ensemble for the day. I can just see him standing in front of his full length mirror saying – ah perfect – and now for the final touch – the cap. No not quite – oh I know – I’ll wear it backwards – that perfectly completes the outfit.
Gary, I love the good work that you do and earnestly thank you for it, but on the matter of feet you almost seem to have something toeing the line of an unhealthy obsession. I am sure that you are not solely responsible for your footism, but it would be best if you could enroll in a 10 step program to stamp it out.You can’t remain under the boot of such a prejudice. Footing to Thailand for a good foot massage might help you to furn over a new leave and to get out of bed, so to speak, on the right foot..
Happy walking,
Robert
After all, nobody truly wants to be a heel.
R
I see issue with the fact that the police is tweeting about this, instead of focusing on screening pax. When I flew out of BNE a week ago, there was ONE security lane open for the late afternoon departures. It was ridiculous. I waited 40 minutes, even though I was flying business with status. Stop catching barefoot people, and start actually screening people!