Fifty some years ago (right after Woodstock) I was invited to a Hare Krishna temple. We were instructed to remove our shoes as we entered the temple. They were in the process of carving brand new wooden idols; one of which I pointed to with my foot. Oh Lawdy, I desecrated their most holy idol with my socked foot. Replay “Raiders of the Lost Ark”; I escaped the poison darts, the big round stone from above and a biplane full of snakes. They may still have my size 12D Puma training shoes.
Audiophiles are also cult, or can be. In my case I have a few small pieces of painter’s tape to mark the “holy spot” where my maggies became “fully enlightened”. Actually damage my Magnepan 3.7i speakers however and I may have to bury you somewhere in my back yard near the cesspool. As long as I can do that calmly and without malice it not a Cardinal Sin. I may be over reacting, you can live. You just can’t leave with your debit cards, driver’s license or pass port or, as I learned the hard way, your shoes.