Living left handed in a righthand world
05/03/10 08:23 AM
I am certain most of you do not know that I am left handed - nor should you care. However, I believe all of us left handers deserve a reward for making it in right handed world.
There are tons of things that we put up with that righties take for granted.For example stick shift cars -right handed. Chain saw - right handed. College and high school desks - right handed. Most musical instruments - right handed. Computer keyboards - right handed. I could go on and on about the things that we use on an everyday basis that are designed for the right handed world.
The other day I dawned on me that men’s pants are designed for right handers. In-fact it is very hard for true lefties to zip up pants. We train ourselves to do it over time, but the fact is lefties are forced to conform to the right handed world.
Over my life I have had to figure out how to survive and adapt to this "right wing conspiracy." I still write left handed but I use my computer mouse right handed. I adapted my typing style to work on the QWERTY keyboard. I learned to play guitar right handed. Not because I couldn't find a lefty guitar, but because I couldn't find a lefty teacher. And watching a right handed teacher had me all screwed up. In-fact I think all my chords were backwards! I also learned to bat right handed, though I still catch a ball left handed, and I golf right handed. (maybe that is why I am a terrible golfer, and wasn’t much good at baseball??)
The fact is that I have been forced to lose part of my unique identity because the world is right handed. I have had to find a way to conform. Wow, I never realized how I have been abused and hurt by right handed society.
There are tons of things that we put up with that righties take for granted.For example stick shift cars -right handed. Chain saw - right handed. College and high school desks - right handed. Most musical instruments - right handed. Computer keyboards - right handed. I could go on and on about the things that we use on an everyday basis that are designed for the right handed world.
The other day I dawned on me that men’s pants are designed for right handers. In-fact it is very hard for true lefties to zip up pants. We train ourselves to do it over time, but the fact is lefties are forced to conform to the right handed world.
Over my life I have had to figure out how to survive and adapt to this "right wing conspiracy." I still write left handed but I use my computer mouse right handed. I adapted my typing style to work on the QWERTY keyboard. I learned to play guitar right handed. Not because I couldn't find a lefty guitar, but because I couldn't find a lefty teacher. And watching a right handed teacher had me all screwed up. In-fact I think all my chords were backwards! I also learned to bat right handed, though I still catch a ball left handed, and I golf right handed. (maybe that is why I am a terrible golfer, and wasn’t much good at baseball??)
The fact is that I have been forced to lose part of my unique identity because the world is right handed. I have had to find a way to conform. Wow, I never realized how I have been abused and hurt by right handed society.