All shoes should be velcro, rather than tie-up.

God, what a text wall. Anyway, sorry for not rebutting your previous statements, I will do so now... so here goes.... "Laces need to be replaced when the aglet (plastic tip) becomes frayed and broken, and the lace cannot fit through the eye anymore." -Agreed, I have no direct argument against this, however, with Velcro, it can be the same way. I had myself some Velcro shoes a while back, and after about 3 months, the little connecting Velcro strips began to become frayed and useless, and no longer strongly grabbed hold of its mount. And, not to mention, I had those babies for 3 months, and had become useless, and I've had the same shoes for nearly 2 years, and their aglet still remains. "Laces take much longer to tie initially, and can become undone throughout the day, causing a safety hazard, a nuisance, and further wasting time." -That is true, however I believe that this minor downfall is nothing compared to the other issues of Velcro. "Replacing laces is costly, and detriment to the environment, since plastic production requires crude oil." -I disagree with this statement in every way possible. Firstly, replacing laces is not costly, not nearly as much as Velcro is to replace. I can buy a nice looking new pair of laces for under $5 from my local shoe store. Also, what makes you think that laces is a detriment to the environment? And Velcro isn't?!?! Laces are about 99% cotton, and 1% plastic. Velcro, on the other hand, is probably 40% fabric, 60% plastic, since in the common marketplace, nearly all of the Velcro is made out of common PLASTICS such as nylon or polyester. (http://www.velcro.com...). And, don't say that Velcro is replaced far less than laces, since, as stated above, Velcro often wears out as fast or faster than laces. I would also like to bring something up about a quote the instigator wrote in his previous argument: "However, this debate is not about which of the two can be tightened more, and nor should it be. I'm sure a wire cable could be tightened past the point of cutting off circulation, and indeed would rip through the eyes of the shoe, which is an undesirable result when fastening shoes." -You stated that this debate is not about which of the two can be tightened more. True, it's not. However, this debate is regarding that Velcro is BETTER than tie-up. And, a relevant topic would be the tightening ability of the two fasteners. Also, I don't see how your bringing up of the wire cable is at all relevant to the topic. Sure, if I were to take a wire cable as my shoe-lace, it would indeed cause an undesirable result.... but this debate is not, "All shoes should be Velcro, rather than ... Wire Cables..." I would also like to point out and add into the mix of things here, that, 90% of the time, when you see advertisements on TV or at shoe stores for Velcro shoes, who are they for? CHILDREN. Velcro and laces are so similar, and, in my opinion, laces are far better, so why would you want to give up on the traditions that people have been using for generations? Laces are tighter, they're more economically and environmentally efficient, they look better, they feel better, and they are all around better. Therefore, Laces are superior.