Right or Left?

Question

I am an older person, but today for the first time since I was a young child I realized there may be stigma or even predudisum against something that I feel is natural. As a young child I was encouraged to ingnore my difference. I simply remember the difference as being hard for my teachers to recognize, I don't think anyone figured out that I was left-handed until I was in school for a few years. By that time , there was some definite feelings of disfunction. But why today, when I wrote with my left hand, in an interview did I feel it was not percieved as good? Is there something more to being left handed than I ever thought about. I always knew , how can you not, every young child with a crayon in the right hand and the teacher always saying "no use your other hand"..... but I always thought that was all there was to it. Right or Left.

Answer 1

I see the same thing with my son, who is left handed. there is a, well, a stigmata associated with being left handed.
In many European languages, "right" is not only a synonym for correctness, but also stands for authority and justice. Being right-handed has also historically been thought of as being skillful. The English word "sinister" comes from the Latin word "sinistra,-us,-um", which originally meant "left" but took on meanings of "evil" or "unlucky" A left-hander was supposed to be not only unlucky, but also awkward and clumsy. Even the word "ambidexterity" reflects the bias. Its intended meaning is, "skillful on both sides." However, since it keeps the Latin root "dexter," which means "right," it ends up conveying the idea of being "right-handed at both sides."
To this day, it is widely regarded as taboo in Arab culture to handle food with the left hand. Offering one's left hand for a handshake greeting, or even waving it in greeting without touching, would be considered a serious personal insult in Arab society. Left-handers are also persecuted to some degree in the Arab World due to this taboo.
However, on the good side is this....it is the right brain hemisphere that is said to be more active in left-handed people and in some circumstances to be associated with genius and is correlated with artistic and visual skill.

Answer 2

The answer of aidan402 is excellent.
I believe, at least in my country, that the "difference"is accepted in the education and in the general society. Nerveless a great numbers of common items are designed for right hand users like the operators of the windows, the key position in the trunk of the cars or the mouse in your computer.
Being a left hand can be and advantage. When my left hand kid start the tennis class he learn first the back hand (double hand in the grip of the racket) instead of the forehand. This is because he was in minority in the group. When the group start to practice the backhand he practice the easier forehand with the left arm.
My father write with the right hand but he's left hand, that's because being a lefty was a bad thing during his education.

Answer 3

UM... you are the devil. Or at least that is what a 1400 century spanish inquisition would say. I am enlightened so I know you are just a freak.

I actually think it is a benefit to be left handed even though I am not, because most lefties experience a lot of pressure to do things right handed and thus become ambidexterous. This seems like a secret special power, you can when leaning to either side, bat both ways to through off pitchers, and even follow better when dancing.

You feel like it is not good... because you have a mental problem, it is called being self conscious. It is like a fat chick wearing a thong bikini. don't feel bad, be yourself, no one cares, and most people do not even notice, unless they sit at your desk and try to use your mouse.

I honestly wish I would have been trained to use the mouse with my left hand so I could ten-key more efficiently... I might just do that.... train myself... then I will be a god like you.

Answer 4

Well i feel you!

I am both, i was born favoring both hands equally. My parents know that picking the wrong hand can really impact a person, so they brought in an expert. Sure, enough i am ambidextrous. But since i was mixing up my b and d's they picked for me to be right handed.

Alas, my body revolted. Sure i write with my right hand, but i eat with my left, play pool with my left, i some times bat with my left. I use both to pastel.

I say to what feels good to you. There is no stigma about being left handed! Practice using it! Its not to late! Dont get too down about it. I have always loved the things about me which make me different. Who wants to be like everyone else??

Answer 5

I never thought there existed such teachers.

Though your paragraph is quite incoherent to me due to self-negating sentences, I gather you're trying to explain that as child, being left-handed, you realized you were different. Different, as in different from everyone else who didn't seem to recognize(you mean accept or acknowledge?) that you were different. Way back, you didn't see the difference of you as being being different (or did you mean you didn't think there was nothing wrong with being left-handed?) but then again you said, there were some definite feelings of disfunction. I am really confused, pardon me.
Until you realized now in your older life, today, that being left handed is not perceived as good(by whom? other people? or you?)

Each child looks at a certain way of thinking in different perspective comparing to that as of an adult. To an innocent child, being left-handed may make him feel special and unique, but to the older teacher, he thinks it is not unique, it is wrong, and it has to be corrected.
To a child, his family may be his playmates who keep him happy, but to the older members, the family is there to keep him, sustain him, and most, to discipline him that he may not fall into wrong path.
You felt today that being left-handed is not perceived as good, hey you've grown to be like the mature teacher.

There is nothing wrong with being left-handed, that is what you are, so why try to change something you cant? it is involuntary muscles acting, and can't be controlled by the brain.

Answer 6

I don't understand why you would ask someone else to explain your feelings to you. Who was there? Who knows the situation and background?

I usually grin and say "all us geniuses are left-handed." I'm somewhat mixed. Golf and bat right handed, eat and write left, use left for power drill unless forced by position to use right. I never learned guitar because I couldn't work out which of 3 ways to do it. Basically, I've developed both sides of my brain, do math and verbal things equally well.

Answer 7

I think you should use the hand you feel most comfortable with. I am a right-handed person and one of my best friends is a left-handed person, it doesnt come between us and I dont think its wierd or abnormal. It shouldnt matter at all what hand you use to write. And that is that.

Answer 8

Cool, left-handed each person is the purely ones of their suitable concepts (the left fringe of the mind controls the right fringe of the body) regrettably, i'm no longer in my suitable concepts, so i'm suitable handed.

Answer 9

well... there's nothing wrong with it, it's just that the majority of people write with their right hand.

people don't like what is different. that is why back in the day people were so racist (though, it actually still happens today...).
different has always been perceived as "bad".

i don't think people will ever be ok with the differences that make us unique.

Answer 10

Right