It is a world dominated by right-handers and the right-handed people take their dominance for granted. Can the right-handed dispute this fact? The majority of right-handed people are cruelly oblivious to the plight of those who are left to suffer the handism in equipment design, from potato peelers to scissors, to wrist watches, computer keyboards to mouses. Even the flush handle on the WC and the handles on the doors favour the right.
Further, language certainly discriminates against the left-hander and is also atrociously laden with ill-feeling: A left-handed compliment is not something you would want to hear. Historically, the left side, and subsequently left-handedness, was considered negative in many cultures. The Latin word sinistra originally meant left but took on meanings of evil or unlucky by the Classical Latin era, and this double meaning survives in European derivatives of Latin, and in the English word sinister. The right hand has historically been associated with skill: the Latin word for right-handed is dextera, as in dexterity, meaning manual skill. Even the word ambidexterity reflects the bias. Its intended meaning is skilful on both sides. However, since it keeps the Latin root dextera, which means right, it ends up conveying the idea of being right-handed at both sides. The Lefties have not been regarded with a positive attitude even in French and Old English. The word for left in French is gauche and droit for right from which we get the English word adroit. Largely because of the etymology of the word, being left-handed, or a southpaw, was considered to be a negative trait.
In many modern European languages, including English, the word for the direction 'right' also means 'correct' or 'proper', and also stands for authority and justice. Indeed, Catholic tradition has constantly taught that only the right hand may properly engage in manual activities. The left hand must remain curbed and passive or, at most, ancillary and subservient to the right hand, analogous to the function of a pallet in respect to an artist, or the operation of a dustpan to a broom. Hence, the use of the left hand, either principally or indiscriminately along with the right, has always been held to be an abuse, a sin against nature, and intrinsically disordered as an unnatural vice.
Snubbing such misconceptions, W C Fields proudly declares thus:
Fortunately for me, but for a few curious enquiries, I have never faced ill-treatment. The malignancy in infrastructural design, of course, is inescapable.
By the way, today the 13th of August is International Left-Handers' Day.
Further, language certainly discriminates against the left-hander and is also atrociously laden with ill-feeling: A left-handed compliment is not something you would want to hear. Historically, the left side, and subsequently left-handedness, was considered negative in many cultures. The Latin word sinistra originally meant left but took on meanings of evil or unlucky by the Classical Latin era, and this double meaning survives in European derivatives of Latin, and in the English word sinister. The right hand has historically been associated with skill: the Latin word for right-handed is dextera, as in dexterity, meaning manual skill. Even the word ambidexterity reflects the bias. Its intended meaning is skilful on both sides. However, since it keeps the Latin root dextera, which means right, it ends up conveying the idea of being right-handed at both sides. The Lefties have not been regarded with a positive attitude even in French and Old English. The word for left in French is gauche and droit for right from which we get the English word adroit. Largely because of the etymology of the word, being left-handed, or a southpaw, was considered to be a negative trait.
In many modern European languages, including English, the word for the direction 'right' also means 'correct' or 'proper', and also stands for authority and justice. Indeed, Catholic tradition has constantly taught that only the right hand may properly engage in manual activities. The left hand must remain curbed and passive or, at most, ancillary and subservient to the right hand, analogous to the function of a pallet in respect to an artist, or the operation of a dustpan to a broom. Hence, the use of the left hand, either principally or indiscriminately along with the right, has always been held to be an abuse, a sin against nature, and intrinsically disordered as an unnatural vice.
Snubbing such misconceptions, W C Fields proudly declares thus:
"If the left side of your brain controls the right side of your body, and the right side of your brain controls the left side of your body, then left-handed people must be the only ones in their right minds."And to substantiate Fields’ declaration, here's a very partial list of left-handed celebrities, past and present, to make you all right-handers regret for not being a 'lefty': the Italian trinity of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael; Ramses II the Egyptian Pharaoh; Alexander the Great; Charlemagne the Holy Roman Emperor; Julius Caesar the Roman General; Napoléon Bonaparte the French Emperor; King Louis XVI of France; Joan of Arc; Queen Victoria, King George II and King George VI of England; Albert Einstein; Benjamin Franklin; Fidel Castro; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Henry Ford; US Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama; Charlie Chaplin, Angelina Jolie, Robert DeNiro, Pelé, Diego Maradona not to forget our very dear Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Rajasekharam …. Oops! Did I include my name in this list? Of course, that’s for the times to come.
Fortunately for me, but for a few curious enquiries, I have never faced ill-treatment. The malignancy in infrastructural design, of course, is inescapable.
By the way, today the 13th of August is International Left-Handers' Day.
very smart lefty !
ReplyDeleteMalathi.
wow, thank you. you seem to have found some time to browse through the posts in one go. anyway, better late than never. thank you once again.
DeleteWow, wonderful post my Shakespeare. I wish your dream of joining the celebrity lefties comes through sooner than later.
ReplyDelete