‘Don’t come in then’: Social media up in arms over WSJ article about wearing shoes inside the home, Latest World News - The New Paper
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‘Don’t come in then’: Social media up in arms over WSJ article about wearing shoes inside the home

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A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article on wearing shoes inside homes has raised eyebrows across social media, with many commenters labelling the author as "rude" and "disrespectful".

The column, "Here's why I'll be keeping my shoes on in your shoeless home", by columnist Kris Frieswick, makes the point that guests removing their shoes just to keep home floors clean is nonsensical – since germs are already omnipresent. 

The writer also says:  "Why are you assuming that your guests' shoes are dirtier than your floors?"

Frieswick does concede that she would take off her shoes if the host perceives wearing them inside as disrespectful from a cultural or religious perspective.

"I do understand that there are people who don't wear shoes in the home for cultural or religious reasons," Frieswick writes. "If I am entering the home of someone from a culture in which wearing street shoes is a sign of disrespect, I'm of course going to take them off.

"I will also remove them if my shoes are covered in snow, mud, blood, condiments of any sort, lava, excrement, concrete dust, or biomedical hazardous waste.

"But barring shoes outright just to keep your floors clean is bringing a gun to a pillow fight."

Frieswick discusses her research findings into the different types of bacteria found in homes, and also argues over the potential hypocrisy involved with letting pets walk into households after being outside – but making visitors remove their shoes. 

But Internet users who commented on Frieswick's column focused less on bacteria, and more on her disrespect.

 

In a Reddit thread hundreds of Redditors relayed a similar theme.

Redditor u/ValusMaul, whose comment has received more than 14,000 votes, wrote that not removing shoes despite a homeowner's request is blatantly disrespectful.

"How about rules set in someone else's home be respected," they commented.

Another Redditor suggested an alternate headline for the viral column: "'Why I'm going to be rude as f**k when you invite me to your home' should be the headline."

columncultureViral (Social Media)