I like clipless pedals. I have a slight leg length discrepancy that I compensate by cleat position. Once clipped in, I don't have to think about putting my right foot just a tiny bit farther back on the pedal than the left, it's already there. They also work well with the cycling shoes I use, forming a nice, rigid connection of the shoe with the bike.
I don't care what others do or wear, though I probably wouldn't ride near someone in flipflops on platform pedals.
And I do occasionally pull up when climbing steep pitches out of the saddle, others' beliefs to the contrary notwithstanding.
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"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles