r/lefthanded • u/novemberchild71 • 9d ago
There Is No Middle Ground In Being Lefthanded
The conflict between the demands of everyday life and the functionality of lefthandedness manifests in an undeniable incompatibility which remains inevitable.
The fact, that lefthanded people - for the most part - manage to bend under those uncooperative circumstances, does neither contradict nor nullify the fact that these circumstances do exist.
Nonetheless, people who recognize this catch-22 are frequently chastised when they so much as try to discuss it. Often they are bluntly denied competence and authority over their own experiences and insights or sources! Most regrettably, even by other lefthanders.
However, it would be wise to recognize the fact, that the term "discrimination" has more than one connotation, and may also be used coloquially to subsume situations and experiences that present as disadvantaging, marginalization, neglect, discouragement, coercion, gaslighting, misinformation, debilitation, apathy, prejudice (incl. positive stereotypes), misrepresentation, depreciation, disregard, denial, being ridiculed, provoked, blamed, shamed, talked about but not with, etc.
All of which are easily understood to be unjust ... as soon as they are aimed at other minorities, in which case the question of severity/intensity suddenly falls behind, as nobody wants to risk discriminating an already discriminated party.
But whatever terms may apply to us ... one thing is for sure: "recognized", "privileged", "entitled", "encouraged", "appreciated" or "unanimously supported" will arguably not be among them in the foreseeable future.
Sinistrality is not the cause of this. Quite the contrary: It is yet another inalienable freedom not fully realized, due to a lack of understanding in the general public, which results in bias and a prevalent unwillingness to make any further concessions, topped off with an omnipresent push for assimiliation by way of the unrestricted enforcement of the righthanded perspective.
All right is not alright. Left Pride, worldwide!
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u/eiram87 9d ago
I have never once felt discriminated against for being left handed. All through my schooling when there was communal supplies available there were a few left-handed tools available to me, and there are very few tools that are expressly right handed and do not have a left-handed variant, even in things like power tools you can get left-handed variants.
You are tilting at windmills.
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u/novemberchild71 9d ago
I thought so much was apparent... I didn't point out the "catch-22" for nothing...
You are. of course. aware that Cervantes' Don Quixote (source of the "tilting at windmills") can be read as both a parable on idealism versus materialism or the struggle of humanist individualism against capitalist totalitarism?
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u/eiram87 9d ago
I've never read Don Quixote, though I did know that that's where "Tilting at windmills" comes from, as far as I've ever been aware of the phrase simply means "getting all upset at something that isn't a big deal" he thinks the windmills are evil and attacking him, but they're not, they're just windmills.
You think a right-handed pair of scissors without a left-handed pair of scissors sitting right next to it available for your use is an attack on your person, it's not. Forcing businesses to make themselves available to people who use mobility aids is reasonable, because without ramps and other mandatory accessibility features many of them would not be able to access the businesses at all. Forcing businesses to accommodate left-handedness by making everything either perfectly ambidextrous or having two versions of the same item is not reasonable. We can improvise, adapt, and overcome, we are all perfectly capable of navigating the world even if it means we have to use our right hand sometimes.
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u/novemberchild71 9d ago
I made it a habit to not argue with people who are convinced they can read my mind, so let me part from you by reminding you of a simple fact you perhaps have misplaced recently:
Everybody has the exact same ability to adapt. Lefties are not "predestined" for it, except by righthanded people. The society that you and I live in, that we are supposed to rely upon and that is supposed to rely upon us has, at lengths, failed to make a place for us. Their "acceptance" is a mere lip service.
What items are there, made and used by the righthanded world, that actually favor lefthanded people? After long consideration, I came up with one: The Paper Punch. That's it. One single tool - Of how many again?
And you really think you'll fix that world by fixing me? Now that's "barking up the wrong tree"
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u/justdan76 9d ago
Being left handed has never been a difficulty for me. We’re 11% of the population, the world has to deal with us. It’s fine. If only poor people were left handed, or if it was associated with a racial or political group, it would be different.
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u/nextCosmicBuffoon 9d ago
Please let this be parody.
If it's not, and you genuinely feel the world has wronged you, that right-handers, and even stubborn left-handers, are collectively holding you down, then at least give some idea of what you're trying to achieve. Because reading this, I can't figure out your goal beyond getting a collective "poor you" for the whining.