Lefties living in a right-hand world

Sonia Morgan, Staff Reporter

THERE IS an unwritten rule that right is right and left is wrong. Don't believe me? Well have you ever heard that the 'left hand of God is healing in our land'? I didn't think so. There is more emphasis on the right hand which thought to be a symbol of strength, skill, among other positive features. Even the very name 'right hand' suggests that it is the 'correct' hand. At least that's what we are taught.

As fate would have it, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father; we swear by our right hand; 'right-wingers' are acceptable, 'left-wingers' are not; and if you dance badly then you have two left feet (I guess they didn't know that two of the greatest footballers ­ Maradona and Hristo Stoichkov ­ are left-footed). Even language has played its part in discriminating against those 'cursed' with the use of their left hand.

The French word for left is 'gauche' which in English means lacking ease or grace and tactless. 'Sinister' ­ suggestive of evil, being villainous or criminal is the Latin word for 'left'. Therefore, left-handed people are called sinistrals. 'Droit' is the French for 'right' making the English 'Adroit' which means skilful. 'Dexterous', meaning having skill in handling or being right-handed, is from the Latin word 'dexter' ­ right-handed. Therefore to be 'ambidexterous' actually means having two right hands. I could go on. But these words and ideas of left and right are simply errors of history. A history which has caused, to date, a blatant and almost oblivious discrimination of those who use 'the other hand'.

Children of the devil

When I asked Alicia Barnett, a lefty, what some of the sayings are about sinistrals, she said, "They say left hand people owe the devil a day." She is not far from right. In the past, (far past) left-handed people were thought to be children of the devil. One can imagine being burnt at the stake for having dominant power on the left-side of the anatomy. Mothers would 'break' their children out of using the left hand by refusing to give them anything if they attempt to take it with the 'wrong' hand. Teachers would insist that 'south-paws' hold their books in the position best for right-handers. This has caused many of them to have horrible penmanship and cramped hands.

Today, at least in the western world, sinistrals, lefties, south-paws, whatever you call them, are not thought of as evil ­ but they live each day in a right-hand world where their 'abnormality' is ignored and they simply have to adjust. Like it or not, they are just another minority that are discriminated against because of no fault of their own. Everything is made for the right-handed. A simple pair of scissors was designed for right-handers. Power tools, some desks in the classrooms, computer mouses and numeric keys, can openers, guitars ­ and the list goes on.

Our goodly lefties may be excluded from some games because the ball is passed to the left with the right hand. In baseball the gloves are designed for right-handers. Hockey players also suffer a disadvantage. According to Lincoln Wilson, a left-hander, "In hockey, the stick is supposed to be held in a way that favours the right-handed person ­ which posed a problem for me in school."

Since the 'children of the devil' theory doesn't hold, scientists have done research to find out why some people are born left-handed. One out of every ten persons is born a sinistral. They don't know why, it's just one of those things that occur ­ just like having light-brown eyes (puss yeye). Some scientists argue that left-handers have shorter life span than right-handed people, more accidents and more psychological disorders. However, new research suggests that lefties are at no more risk of dying earlier than righties. Handedness, they say, has no effect on death.

Surviving in the right lane

Ten per cent of the population is left-handed. Does this mean that provisions should be made for the lefties or should they adapt?

According to Jerry Mathers(a lefty, of course) throughout his life he has been forced to adapt to the right-handed way of things. "When I got this data entry job I was forced to used the right side numeric keys on the computer. It was a speed typing situation ­ the faster you typed the more money you made. They could have altered the situation to suit me but they didn't do it ­ they said I had to learn. I felt it was discrimination. But I learned and it is benefiting me today."

There are those business places, schools, universities and other institutions which seem to be oblivious that left-handers have alternative ways of writing, holding instruments and using equipment. Since such a large number of the populace is left-handed, should these institutions invest in 'left-handed' desks, keyboards, computer mouses, lab equipment? Most have not. So the majority of left-handers simply learn to survive without complaint because it is the way of the world. This requires more effort than the right-handed person.

Writing without the right

Pens ­ ball point, fountain pens; paper, desks ­ all the implements for writing are right-handed. It is more comfortable for them to write from left to right. Right-handers write away from the body, left-handers write towards, that cannot be comfortable. So they have created ways to write legibly and comfortably without getting ink all over their hands. Ever look at a lefty write? Looks funny, doesn't it? That's because we are making them into righties by forcing them to do it the way we do.

Well we're only making them into more rounded individuals!

Creative genuis - a left-hand trait?

Could it be sheer coincidence that Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Pablo Picasso, Ludwig van Beethoven, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Issac Newton, Jimi Hendrix, Henry Ford, Pele and a host of other creative individuals in the arts and sciences are all left-handed? Maybe. But there is research that suggests that there is a direct link between left-handedness and creativity.

Scientists have found that the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and the right side of the brain controls the left. It is the left brain which controls language, numbers, logic and reason. On the other hand, the right side is more artistic, abstract, understanding emotion and appreciating music and art. Hmmmmm. What are the scientists getting at? It is the brain's left hemisphere that controls language in right-handers as well as the more dominant right hand. Language function is centred in the right hemisphere of about 30 per cent of left-handers. The right hemisphere also controls the left hand. This could be why many have linked left handedness with creativity.

According to Ed Hopkins in 'Lefthanders' Creativity' "We all know that there's a higher percentage of left handed creative people than the percentage of lefthanders in the general population." But he said there is no correlation between left-handedness and creativity. Others might argue that of the 10 per cent of left-handed persons, a larger percentage is creative than that of the 90 per cent right-handed persons. I won't involve myself in that politics. However, the next time you are opening a can, playing a guitar, using a scissors ­ try it with your left hand.

Myths about lefties