Respect for the Board of Supervisors

I was recently reprimanded because I attend Board of Supervisor meetings barefooted. I was told it was disrespectful to the Board. The odd thing is the people who think I am disrespectful to the Board are the same people who attend Board meetings to make accusations, assassinate characters, question motives, make demands, fabricate conspiracies and be generally disagreeable and disrespectful. One told the board to “resign or leave the country.”  Another demanded the administrator to “look at me when I am talking, it is polite to look at people who are talking.  At recent Board meetings there has been a lot of Bible quoting from those addressing the Board. I would suggest Luke 6:42.

I have to wonder if they actually believe I am being disrespectful or are just looking for something to complain about.

My job is to be reasonably polite and to report on Board decisions. It is not my job to provide a forum for everyone who addresses the Board. Frankly, some of them are nut-cases.

It is not my job to dress to suit anyone’s standard of respect just as I have never reported on the attire of anyone else attending the meeting although I was tempted when someone showed up in green surgical scrubs and barn boots. It is not my job to report on the dress of the supervisors.

As far as my bare feet are concerned, they are my feet. I’ve had them for 60 years. There are no laws in Virginia requiring “shirts and shoes.” There is no law requiring shoes while driving. If there were I would challenge them on the basis of personal liberty. If that doesn’t work, I would claim religious exemption. If that doesn’t work, I would go with the handicapped angle.

On the other hand, if a private business does not want my business because of my feet, that is fine with me. I was once refused admittance to an event that was “black tie only.” I politely left.

Often I am told I should wear shoes because “no one wants to look at my ugly feet.” If we are going to start covering up ugly, things are certainly going to look different. Every day I see something ugly and I ignore it.