What's wrong with being left handed?

@cambiste (1244)
India
September 19, 2009 12:29pm CST
I used to go to a tutor whose daughter used to be left handed. But her parents forced her to change to writing with the right hand. Very few survive writing with the left hand, and there is occasionally one in my classroom. One thing i've noticed about them is that they're unusually smart (the ones i've encountered atleast) and have good writing speed. Is there any reason society is against left-handed people?
15 people like this
82 responses
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
19 Sep 09
I did not know society was against left-handed people. I know lots of people who are left-handed and know one is against them. The only problem I have come across is if you are right-handed and a left-handed person sit next to you to eat it is very hard not bumping arms. Usually we just move a little farther away from eat other and continue to eat.
2 people like this
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
Yes, suppose the same problem may arise when you're writing. But till now, most of the left handed people i know manage somehow without disturbing others. Happy mylotting.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (221120)
• Chile
19 Sep 09
It´s not that big problem either. I get to pick the side of the table it suits my hand
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@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
lol. Yes. I've noticed it among my left handed friends as well :P
@donie11 (35)
• Canada
19 Sep 09
as far as i know there is nothing wrong with being left handed....back in the day they use to not allow it but then again back in the day people use to think the world was flat lol. i think some people are just not very good at dealing with differences so they dont allow it? maybe? according to a research though right handed people tend to live 9 years longer than left handed people.....but thats just on average and its not a fact lol.....as for my self i am a right handed person and i think there is absolutly nothing wrong with left handed people
2 people like this
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Yes, i think the same. The only disadvantage i see for left handed people is the use of the traditional chair-desk in some schools. The chair has a L-shaped wooden piece fixed to the right arm of the chair which makes it difficult for left handed people to write properly. But most left handed people have good handwriting in contrast. Happy mylotting.
1 person likes this
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
Yes, that is perhaps true. The results match your hypothesis :D
@marguicha (221120)
• Chile
19 Sep 09
Left handed peole, like myself, learn to do well in a world where some things are made only for right handed people. That makes us develop certain talents that everyone has but lay dormant.
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@marguicha (221120)
• Chile
19 Sep 09
I´m left handed. I haven´t had any problems in my life except that every beginning of the school year my father went to see the principal and told her that I was left handed and that´s how it should be. My father was very handsomeso I think that helped. Many incredible people have been left handed, including Leonardo da Vinci. I don´t wnat to boast, but I was the best student in my class at the University and my thesis got an international award. Not that that is important. I think that being smart is trying to do the best with one´s life. Prizes don´t mean much: love does. Take care!
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
Thanks for sharing. Yes, i know that most left handed people are talented and smart in what they do - especially studies. It really makes me glad that Bill Gates is right handed. lol. Happy mylotting.
1 person likes this
@AniruS (256)
• United States
19 Sep 09
Left handedness was considered a bad thing in the early ages. It is because it was different than usual, with most of the people being right handed. Therefore, the left handed people were considered evil and an incarnation of devil. (Hence the word sinister (left-handed in Latin), which means threatening or evil. This does not have any scientific backing. Also science has proved that left handedness is normal and there is nothing unusual about it. I think your tutor forced their daughter to change from left handed because they are superstitious and do not want their kid to be labeled as evil.
• United States
19 Sep 09
I am left handed and didn't know this Anirus. Thanks for the enlightenment.
2 people like this
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
That was enlightening. Thanks for sharing. Yes, my tutor was trying to avoid all kinds of "bad things" even if they are superstitions. She's not really unscientific, but more like "why take the risk? It's my kids' future." Happy mylotting.
1 person likes this
@Gyverd (19)
• Indonesia
20 Sep 09
Never heard about it. But in my country doesn't matter if your left/right handed. Nice info.
• United States
19 Sep 09
I am left handed and no I do not see any reason why society would be against left handed people. I don't think they are so much against it in today's world. That was just something that was done a long time ago because it was out of the "norm" to be left handed. I just always like to think about that old saying that "since the right half of the brain controls the left half of the body, only left handed people are in their right minds!"
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
Sounds good. Actually, i often wished i were left handed as well. It's out of the ordinary; and not just that, i've noticed more left handed people than a similar % of right handed people are outstanding in what they do. Thanks for sharing and happy mylotting.
@Archie0 (5652)
19 Sep 09
Not at all. A significant proportion of lefties have brain functions that are less lateralized than is the case with right-handers. That means that, if someone like that has a stroke that affects one side of the brain, he or she might still have those functions unaffected in the other half. As well, lefties have to be adaptable: they're living in a world that is literally not designed for them.
1 person likes this
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
Perhaps because of that they have to be strong. Challenges seem to make left handed people able to quickly adapt to situations and also work harder - and that makes them seem smarter. Most left handed people i know write very fast, and their handwriting is beautiful. They may have been taking up the challenge of being standing out to become outstanding. Perhaps not all lefties are like that, but those i have met have stood out among others.
@Varetor (11)
• United States
19 Sep 09
its not bad its just that is different to everyone, so the world is just used to the right handed, games, cars, almoiust everyhing is for right handed... lol
2 people like this
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
Yes, that's true. Its easy to make tools and equipment if we assume everyone is left handed. Thanks for your thoughts. Happy mylotting.
1 person likes this
@littleone3 (2063)
19 Sep 09
I can't think of any reason why society should be against left handed people. My 12 year old daughter is left handed and I have never forced her to write with her right hand, but have found that society has stared to become more acceptable of left handers as they now sell scissors and pens especially made for them. My daughter is also very smart and talented. My mum is also left handed and when she was at school they tried to force her to write with her right hand but she could not and would always go back to her left hand.
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
Yes, unusually, most left handed people seem to be experts in their domain of interest. The left handed people i know are smart in studies. Thanks for your response. Happy mylotting.
1 person likes this
@jeiay41 (674)
• United States
19 Sep 09
Its funny to read all the comments here. Some said its a evil thing to have other they are not accepted by the society which is all false accussation. Anyways tells me a story way back when i was still a kid and they teached me how to write. The funny part is they give me the pen to my right hand to write but i always switch it to my left hand. They slap my left hand every time i use it but i insist and persevere my writing in a hard way. Now im using my left hand alone on writing things and also in other works i do. Also my left hand is mch strong than my right hand and in terms of boxing sports they have an advantage to the said sport afaik. Although community like they said don't like lft hand, I believe the only reason like my mother tell me the disadvantage of being a lefty is when i start learning to school. Because the chairs mostly built likely for a right hand person for easy writing rather than left hand. It also bothered me when ther is a situation when you sit beside a classmate which is a right hand person cause you hit each other arms every time you two write at the same time.
2 people like this
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
Yes i completely agree. Its better if everyone does things in one way. We know how to provide solutions (eg: chairs) to situations that arise in general. Making things for both left handed and right handed people would be troublesome and difficult. Happy mylotting.
1 person likes this
@shia88 (4571)
• Malaysia
19 Sep 09
HI Cambiste, Being a left or right handed is not a big issue in society. That's human right and we are not able to decide for it. My Husband is also a left-handed,he write with his left hand and he can write pretty fast. He also hold spoon with his left hand. I ever asked him whether he can change to his write hand to hold a pen and a spoon. He said 'NO', he just can't write well with his right hand. I don't see the point why I should force him to change to his right-hand for writing. As long as he feels comfortable, he can continue using his left-hand for anything that he like to do.
2 people like this
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
Thanks for sharing. The left-handed classmate i mentioned earlier is also a pretty fast writer. She used to set the record for the number of pages in almost every exam - and even remember the maximum number of points in most cases. Thanks for sharing.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
19 Sep 09
I haven't a clue why society is against left-handed people but what I can tell you is that I really like being left handed. It was always something that made me different from the other people that I went to school with. I think that part of the reason that people forced a person that was naturally left handed to become right handed is because it is easier to teach a right-handed person certain things. As a left-handed person, I had a difficult time learning to write script because my angle was opposite of that that the other people had. Additionally, it was difficult for my mother to teach me to crochet because I had to do things the opposite way that she did. Now, I have two children of my own and my daughter is right handed, but my son I'm pretty sure is going to be left handed (he's only two years old). And I am perfectly happy with the way that both of my children are.
2 people like this
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
That is true. Its easier for society to create and model thing for a people who follow a standard. The computer mouse is easy for right handed people to use, but left handed people can also get used to it after a while. I think what you say must be the reason why everyone prefers right handed people. Left handed people just show that they "dare to be different" :) Happy mylotting.
1 person likes this
• United States
19 Sep 09
I had read in a book about how people were treated that were left handed. I thought society had advanced in their thinking way beyond this point about left handed people. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being left handed. I know many people who are left handed and they are smart. I am even handed. I can use both hands to write, but I write much faster and more clearer with my left hand. I believe that I have seen President Obama write and I think he is left handed. We must remember that God made all of us and the left handed people could take the view that there is something wrong with a person who is right handed.
@ced_cap (207)
• Philippines
19 Sep 09
I have two kids who are left handed. Me and my husband did not force them to to use their right hand. So what if they're left-handed. In fact, there's a study that left-handed persons are said to be more talented and do good in school. God made them that way so why change it.
2 people like this
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
I agree with that. All the people i have met who are left-handed have been excellent with studies and very extraordinary. I think talents naturally pick the left hand for writing. Happy mylotting and thanks for sharing.
1 person likes this
@mothma (136)
• United States
19 Sep 09
Most of the presidents are left handed, including the last 8. Left handed people are more likely to be leaders.
@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
I agree. I too have noticed the enormous potential of naturally left handed students. A legendary cricketer from our country was a left handed bowler. Very few have surpassed him even today. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Happy mylotting.
1 person likes this
• United States
19 Sep 09
I know in the old days if you were left handed you were considered unnormal. My uncle used to get teased all the time just for writing with his left hand. I am left handed and so is my sister so thats considered odd but I dont think we are that different from anybody else. My mom never tried to get me to write with my right hand and now I kind of like being left handed because its different. I dont know why people care what hand somebody writes with, it shouldnt make a difference.
2 people like this
@Fortunata (1135)
• United States
19 Sep 09
You're a teacher? Interesting. When I was a child many years ago, a kidnergarten teacher tormented me for being left handed. She singled me out, yelled at me, screamed at me, for using my left hand. My mother turned her in, and they had me changed to a different classroom. In high school, I had a teacher, in a shorthand class, eagle eye me,( I was holding my pen in my left hand) and tell everyone in a loud voice that left handed people were no good at shorthand, and many other things, too. When I didn't get the hint, she went to the office and had me dropped out of her class. My mother was furious when I told her. She told me her best friend had been left handed, and had been better at shorthand then anyone else in the class when she'd taken shorthand years ago. It's a moot point now, lol, because very few people even use shorthand, but after those two incidents, I've been very skittish around teachers. I don't know why society is against lefthanded people. I think its out of ignorance, for the most part. I know my grandmother told me once that she went to a cathlioc school where the nuns tied girls's hands behind their back so they wouldn't write with their left hand.
1 person likes this
@cambiste (1244)
• India
20 Sep 09
No, i'm not a teacher. ^^ I'm a student. Your experience sounds extreme. My friends who were lefties never went thought that. They're still left handed and also compete for the first 5 places in the rank list ^^ Thanks for sharing. Happy mylotting
@candymarie (1368)
• Canada
20 Sep 09
Yeppers! Starting from the Roman Catholic church waaaaaaaaaaay back when who really knows, it was decided that left hands were the devils hand. Majority of people write with their right hand, somehow indicating the left hand as "idle". As in, "Idle hands are the devil hands." Might also be because when Lucifer was still a high ranking angel before his tumble, he was Gods left hand.
@ImNotFish (106)
• Singapore
20 Sep 09
I guess its because of some thought like left-handed people are unusual and some elder may think of it as evil using left-hand. Parents don't want their children to be different and hence force their children to use right hand. I have own experience on this: I am a left-handed people, and when I was in kindergarten, my teacher always force me to write in right hand. But I always change back to left hand, then she decided not to force me anymore ;P Anyway, I am proud of myself being a left-handed.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
19 Sep 09
You just cant judge people by being left handed as you said they are used to it. ,But there are some difFiculties ive notice for example thing that are made for right handed people.
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@cambiste (1244)
• India
19 Sep 09
I agree. Most conventional equipments and tools are created for right handed people. Thanks for your thoughts, happy mylotting.
• Philippines
19 Sep 09
Your welcome,
1 person likes this
• United States
19 Sep 09
As others have pointed out, most of the prejudice against being left handed stems to much older times, where the left side of the body was considered "unlucky" and the side on which evil spirits lurk. This is also why id you have ever seen someone toss a pinch of salt over thier shoulder after accidently spilling some, they technicaly should have been tossing it over their left shoulder, as salt was once considered to be a very valuable asset, and was used in trading and paying for things much as gold is. The theory was, that is was bad luck to spill the salt, but if you tossed a bit over your left shoulder, it would appease the evil spirits that reside on that side, and they would cease from bringing the ba luck to your life. I am also left handed. luckily my teachers and my parents never tried to change this. There are a few difficulties i run into being a left handed person, specificly writing in notebooks (as the spiral, or binding is always digging into my wrist while i am trying to write) and chosing the right seat to sit in when i go out to eat with a group of people. I always try to position myself that that my left side is to the outside of the table, so that i am not bumping elbows with the person sitting next to me. There are a few things i still do as a right handed person would do though. The first thing that comes to mind is using scissors. Have you ever tried to use a normal pair of scissors in your left hand? the way the blades are positioned, you often don't get a precise cut (particularly if the scissors are not terribly sharp) and they will often just bend and fold the paper between the blades, as opposed to cutting the paper. When i was younger, my aunt who was a school teacher tried to get me to use special left handed scissors, but i had just gotten so used to cutting things with my right hand, that i didn't like them, and actually don't have the prescision with a pair of scissors with my left that i do with my right, just because i have been doing it for so long.
2 people like this
• India
19 Sep 09
Hi, I do not feel anything is bad if a child is left handed. My daughter was left handed and still she is. She is doing very well in life careerwise and also personally. When she was a child our doctor asked us not to try to change the habir because itmay have a reverse effect on her health as well as improvement. I do not believe in any superstition. I feel children should be left as they are Have a nice day
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