OK lemme first say, OHH, yes!It is time to get up, left-handers! Time to rise up, left-handers!
As a life-long, put-upon left-hander who has been forced to endure life in a right-hand-dominated world — except for lefty Babe Ruth, of course, but he’s long gone — I’m all over this “right-handed privilege” injustice like Michael Moore pouncing on a sack of Quarter Pounders with Cheese.
It’s about damn time.
So, here’s the deal. An image showing a left-handed (I presume, although I’m not sure) activist giving a presentation on “right-handed privilege” at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has gone viral on social media, as reported by Fox News. And no, this is not a “slow news day,” right-handers.
If you’re a left-hander like yours truly, you know this is serious stuff.
On Tuesday, the image was liked over 13,600 times on Twitter and retweeted more than 2,500 times on Thursday morning. It also received more than 87,000 Instagram likes.
Let’s check it out, with left-handed [pun?]You can comment, however:
PRIVILEGE WITH RIGHT HAND
- It’s easier; makes life easier (without question)
- A sense of belonging, to feel accepted by others (snobs they may be).
- The world is organized for right-handers (more than “you people” know)
- Access to more information (yup).
- There are more opportunities (you think?)
- You get more advantage
Do you see my point?This is what you should do!
Hey! Hey! I think I can speak for majority of us left-handed people (minus a few crazies) when I say that there’s a lot bigger issues in the world right now that we need to tackle before we get to “Right-Handed Privelege” lol pic.twitter.com/Rmnqs0Wq2n
— The Truth Gazette (@Truth_Gazette) October 19, 2021
As Fox reported, several students told Newsweek that the presentation really did take place and was based on the idea (stark reality) that right-handed people possess an inherent privilege and benefit over left-handed people, and was part of a mandatory program conducted by the university’s Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life. The presentation on October 18 was given by Christina Parlee, an activist and “instructional designer.”
Parlee referred to other materials and said that the presentation included:
“We shake with our right hands. “We pledge with our right arm. Salute with your right hand. With our right hand, we take legal or governmental oaths. School desks are set up for right-handed people.”
The disadvantages are?
“Even though being left-handed has some positive aspects, most left-handed people have negative experiences associated with their dominant hand. We have heard stories of people having their hands painfully tied behind their back so they could learn to use their right hand.”
Every left-hander reading my soapbox spiel knows exactly what I’m talking about. The world was designed for people who are right-handed. Hell, we lefties make up just ten percent of the world’s population, as noted by Insider and as a result, we are forced to endure “little daily struggles” that you righties take for granted.
They include:
SLR cameras are not required for good quality photos anymore, thanks to ever-improving iPhone cameras and their inferior (wink, wink) rivals. Scissors. Spiral notebooks or 3-ring binders are good for writing. The old-fashioned can openers work best in the left hand. Even though Paul McCartney played a left handed bass, guitars. Bows (and even arrows). You can go on and on. Sometimes we lefties don’t realize it, until we come across Yet another “whatever,” purposely designed for the right-handed world.
“Gimme the left handed pliers” pic.twitter.com/dNiDhClDfA
— Dave Doc (@DDoc42) October 19, 2021
I am a terrible lefty Victim person — I can’t even kick a ball with my right foot — one thing I do like better is a manual transmission, which I had on every one of my cars until I was bitten by the German bug (see: “The Ultimate Driving Machine”) some years ago. I found it was a good feeling to use my dominant left hand to steer the car, and my pathetic right hand to operate the gearshifter.
Even worse?
Look at ThisBackground, compliments Mass Mutual
For thousands of years, southpaws were vilified as “unholy,” linked to various learning disabilities, and implicated in a range of behavioral and mental health conditions.
Lefties are still referred to as “sinistral” in the scientific community, a term derived from the Latin word “sinister,” meaning “of the left.”
As recently as the 1960s, in fact, children who displayed tendencies towards left-handedness in the American public school system were “corrected” and forced to write and eat with their right hand.
Seen? Shame. You can’t help but feel ashamed.
Chris McManus, a professor of psychology and medical education at University College London and author of “Right Hand, Left Hand,” offered up the following little tidbit, according to Mass Mutual:
“Once upon a time left-handedness or left hand usage was associated with being a witch, and that certainly ended badly.”
The (left-handed!) humanity is amazing!
Morning Coffee with my cool new “Left Handed” Cup pic.twitter.com/DegHy8Qj0R
— jonathan slater (@slater_jona) October 17, 2021
Right-handers please give lefties (hopefully) a chance to get along. Right(each August 23rd and every subsequent August 23rd). Or simply find a lefty, buy him or her a cup of coffee, and say “Happy International Left-Handers Day!” With a smile, of course. You’re welcome.