The Most Important Questions
Her: You need to have a conversation with your people.From feministe.
Me: ?
Her: Your people. White people. About wearing flip-flips in the winter. Why do they do that? When I was at Princeton* they used to do that. Sometimes your people would even wear flip flops and shorts. I mean, it was Princeton, so they did lots of egregious shit… like oppress me.
Why do white people wear flip-flops in the winter?
__________________
*Don’t hate her too much for dropping the P-bomb
Normally I try to stay out of the actual critical issues of the day and prefer to sit on the sidelines mocking the participants. But on this, I feel like I have some fucking expertise.
In law school, in Virginia, I would wear shorts and flip flops in the snow. People looked at me like I was crazy. Hell, the former Green Beret with PTSD who rarely talked and everyone thought was crazy actually commented on how freakin' nuts I was.
Anyway, now that I have established my credentials as a crazy white guy who wears flip flops and shorts in the snow around less-crazy non-white people, allow me to tell you why I did it:
I was lazy and I hated tying my shoes.
The end.
I have a classmate who, when possible, tries not to wear "closed" shoes. Like she'll wear flip flops or sandals (sandal heels, etc), because she hates having her feel all closed in.
Personally, I don't know how anyone does it, as flip flops are the most god awful uncomfortable things I've ever worn.
But, dude, why not a pair of slip-on Vans?
Is there an extra "I" there?
Also: may I repost this to
Wearing shoes with no socks in cold weather
I knew my heart was in the right place
I knew Id be able to do these things.
David Byrne/Talking Heads, Houses In Motion
I remember when I was on winter break from BU, and I would walk around wearing tennis shoes with no socks in snow. People thought I was crazeeee. But I can honestly say I have never owned a pair of flip flops. But summer fare for me is a pair of nick deck shoes with no socks, or my always handy Nike Cortez with no socks.
As for the shorts in cold weather, that's a common thing coming and going from Bally's... my aerobics instructor always says "WHERE'S YOUR PANTS" when I'm walking out into the snow and cold after working out :-)
Edited at 2008-02-10 09:52 pm (UTC)
(Anonymous)
My boss tells me not to visit schools in shorts and "slippahs", so I make sure I wear them with a skirt or pants, or wear nicer sandals with shorts.
There were two things I did in North American that seriously got under the skin of certain folks. I put a slash through my seven. My co-worker said, "I ain't never seen anybody put a slash through a seven, and I've been working this job more years than I care to admit being alive. I've seen people put a slash through a Z, but I ain't never seen anybody put a slash through their sevens. I don't think most people would like it."
Finally, "I just don't think it's right!"
It was just a regular slash back then, but these days it resembles a particular stroke in Chinese calligraphy.
The thing I did that drove another teacher crazy? Reading upside down. Doesn't every teacher learn to read upside down?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I moved to Hawaii, so now nobody notices that I wear flip flops in the winter. In fact, I blend in better that way.
My boss tells me not to visit schools in shorts and "slippahs", so I make sure I wear them with a skirt or pants, or wear nicer sandals with shorts.
There were two things I did in North American that seriously got under the skin of certain folks. I put a slash through my seven. My co-worker said, "I ain't never seen anybody put a slash through a seven, and I've been working this job more years than I care to admit being alive. I've seen people put a slash through a Z, but I ain't never seen anybody put a slash through their sevens. I don't think most people would like it."
Finally, "I just don't think it's right!",/i>
It was just a regular slash back then, but these days it resembles a particular stroke in Chinese calligraphy.
The thing I did that drove another teacher crazy? Reading upside down. Doesn't every teacher learn to read upside down?
Edited at 2008-02-11 03:00 am (UTC)
I wear shorts and flip flops outside in the two weeks that it is winter here in southeast TX.
(Anonymous)
(I do read your myspace entries, so I haven't entirely lost track).
(or maybe v me - I can never remember which directions comments are).