The Sinister Dexterity

"But there are very few [Southpaws] people who are proud to be one." - this was Preeti's comment about my previous post.

Sad but true,I have to admit.

I'm not apologetic about being left-handed, but the fact remains- there has been, and there still is,a repression of left-handedness.

'Lefties' do feel that they are discriminated against, and somewhat oppressed.

Even today,left-handers face persecution in the normal,daily tasks.

I have personally suffered from the writing discomfort associated with right-handed desks,struggled to find room on the left-hand end of college benches (2-seater) to avoid knocking elbows with the ,usually,right-handed bench-mate.

That apart,the other regular,every-day implements are usually designed for the right-handed people - scissors, can openers, computer keyboard's numerical pads, golf clubs, gearshifts, and hand-held power tools - are just a few that cause complications in a left-handed person's world.

In fact,being left-handed is certainly frowned upon in many cultures around the world as many cultures simply believe that right is right, and left is wrong.

In India,Middle East(esp desert regions) and Indonesia, it is considered impolite to eat with the left hand, and Eskimos believed that every left-handed person was a sorcerer.

In Japan, a man could divorce his wife,if he found that she was left-handed.

The left-handed Romans training to be in a Roman legion would have their hands bound to their side, and would be forced to use the gladius with their right hand,to avoid interfering with the cohesion of the Roman legions.

A simple translation of the the word 'left' in different languages results in this :

Mandarin: improper
French: awkward, clumsy, tacky
Italian: crooked, maimed
German: awkward
Russian: sneaky
Portuguese: mischievous, weak
Spanish: malicious
Romanian: crooked, evil

With origins in Latin, the english word 'dexterity' conveys being skillful.

Contrarily, 'sinister' derived from 'sinus', the Latin word for left, has evil,disturbing and negative connotations while 'sinus' is harmless enough means 'pocket'.

However, 'sinus' refers to the single pocket of the Roman toga,which was on the left-hand side for the convenience of the right-handed wearer.

Even the word "ambidexterity" reflects the bias.

Its intended meaning is, "skillful in using 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.

If one traces the origins of modern words,one will discover that the predominance of right-handedness is an extremely old phenomenon.

But should 'handedness' really matter?

Should we tolerate a society so primitive wherein left-handedness is literally beaten out of a child,with full knowledge that the child could develop a severe stammer and which could ,in turn, lead to a host of psychological problems?

Certainly not!

Methinks,peaceful co-existence needs another 'dexterous' twist!