In case you missed it, social media users were up in arms this weekend about a Wall Street Journal article on wearing shoes inside someone’s home.
Titled “Here’s Why I’ll Be Keeping My Shoes on in Your Shoeless Home”, humour columnist Kris Frieswick stated that she’d take off her shoes in households that requested it for cultural or religious reasons.
For any other reasons, she bluntly asked: “why are you assuming that your guests’ shoes are dirtier than your floors?”
“Turns out there’s already an effective old-fashioned way to achieve your goal of a clean floor while neither insulting my hygiene habits nor endangering my delicate, vulnerable, long-suffering feet: It’s called a doormat,” she wrote.
Almost immediately, readers couldn’t help but point out the disrespect and rudeness of her argument and this strange entitlement despite being a guest in someone else’s home.
“Shoes are one of the things that separates us from other species,” read the first line of the piece, with wording that many readers pointed out bordered on racist.
There are a *lot* of cultures that remove shoes before entering a home. It’s done out of respect, tradition, or even religious reasons.
This opening statement about “other species” is a vile, racist jab, and the @WSJ should be ashamed they allowed it to be published. pic.twitter.com/T6Z5rAkUNi
— Aaron Mahnke (@amahnke) February 10, 2022
THE CAUCASITY
— Bo Ren (@Bosefina) February 11, 2022
The whole article makes it sound like taking off shoes is a weird cultural ritual *those people* do rather than a practical way to keep you from tracking dirt through our homes.
There’s also a side of projection here about ‘our’ dirty floors. pic.twitter.com/7sxmoDdEAc
— David Lo Pun-ch Nazis (@helpmeskeletor) February 10, 2022
READ ALSO: “Stop cooking curry”: when neighbours complain about ‘smelly’ Indian food
Many users were appalled at having to even explain the concept of shoes bringing in dirt and germs into their clean homes.
“‘Kris, welcome to our home, where your filth is filthier than the filth we already have all over our floors’,” the writer continued, arguing that germs and bacteria are already everywhere in the house (even pointing to pets and babies as primary culprits.)
I just mopped my floors so I can walk around here barefoot if I want and you wanna come in here and walk around with your shoes that have been outside in the world ? In my home?
— 🤎 (@notalottamani) February 13, 2022
If someone said, “Here’s why I’ll be keeping my shoes on,” I would just say “here’s why you’re not coming in, bye 👋🏻 ” 😂
— Ken (@KenKaneki25) February 11, 2022
If you don’t wanna take your shoes off in my house, you can stay outside and talk to me through the window 🤗 https://t.co/3pG7lZUGl8
— Ash (@ashindestad) February 10, 2022
I’m sorry but if you refuse to take your shoes off inside my house you’re simply not coming in 😂
It’s not even just a cultural thing, it’s def about the cleanliness & it’s extremely valid. https://t.co/1YsrPmS2Zf
— fatima (@fatimafarha_) February 10, 2022
Still, some users managed to find a bit of humour in the situation.
Another baffling thing about that “how DARE my host not want me to wear my shoes inside” article is, like, wearing shoes sucks actually most of the time. One of my favorite parts of coming home is freeing myself of the foot prisons.
— Sarah Hollowell 🐋 (@sarahhollowell) February 11, 2022
How to turn yourself into the most hated person on the internet.
Step 1: pic.twitter.com/r3PlieqffQ
— Not that Asian dude 🙃 (@geesubay) February 11, 2022
Overall, the message was clear: shoes in the house is simply a no-no, regardless of cultural differences. It’s a sign of respect to follow a host’s house rules and the logic of these rules shouldn’t have to be explained.
READ ALSO: Twitterverse takes down columnist who dissed Indian food
Where do you stand in this argument? Let us know in the comments below!
Asian Twitter activating over the shoes-in-the-house op-ed is a sight to behold.
— Jasmin Malik Chua 🍊🧧🍊 (@jasminchua) February 10, 2022