I go barefoot like Johnny Mercer – and feel Brits’ wrath

‘Mercer’s foot faux pas touches a dozen culturally specific nerves at once: first and foremost, our national sport of repression’ , but because in the photos of Mercer writing the memo on a train, snapped by a dutiful member of the public, the MP isn’t wearing any shoes or socks.The British public, however, is foaming at the mouth. My friend Billy has a rule that adults should only have bare feet in bed and the shower, and I think he speaks for the majority of the country .

Having gently pressed a few friends to unpack their outrage, it’s clear that there are layers to Mercer’s sin. Had he kept his socks on and thereby spared us the sight of his naked, vulnerable little feet, we’d still be angry – but emotions wouldn’t be running so high. And when it comes to barefootedness in an enclosed space such as a train carriage, not only do you have to see someone’s feet, you presumably have to smell them. In a socks-and-shoes culture – as this reaction has solidly reminded us that we are, not that there was any doubt – I’m afraid a foot’s odour tends to reflect its stuffy environment.

I’ve learnt first-hand that walking along a warm English pavement, shoes dangling from one hand, is enough to bring drivers screeching to a halt to pass comment. As such, the reaction to Mercer doesn’t surprise me.

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