Live data from Hacker News

The geography of American left-handedness

washingtonpost.com

11–20 of 44 posts

Re: The geography of American left-handedness

#11
Those sneaky East Coast lefties !!!

sinister (adj.) early 15c., "prompted by malice or ill-will, intending to mislead," from Old French senestre, sinistre "contrary, false; unfavorable; to the left" (14c.), from Latin sinister "left, on the left side" (opposite of dexter)

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sinister

Re: The geography of American left-handedness

#12
post #5
post #4

What's up with Oklahoma is a larger concentration of fundamentalist Christians who are anti-science and therefore ignorant of many modern scientific advances; and also hold a lot of prejudices from bygone eras.

I've never heard of fundamentalist Christians being anti-left-handed. And I am one.

The left side being evil and related to the Devil is pretty embedded in Christianity.

Re: The geography of American left-handedness

#13
post #12
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never heard of fundamentalist Christians being anti-left-handed. And I am one.

The left side being evil and related to the Devil is pretty embedded in Christianity.

Anything in America in the last 200 years or so?

Re: The geography of American left-handedness

#14
post #5
post #4

What's up with Oklahoma is a larger concentration of fundamentalist Christians who are anti-science and therefore ignorant of many modern scientific advances; and also hold a lot of prejudices from bygone eras.

I've never heard of fundamentalist Christians being anti-left-handed. And I am one.

It's certainly not a secular view.

Re: The geography of American left-handedness

#15
post #3

I grew up in southeast Oklahoma, as well as all my family.. Teachers spewing off about left handedness being evil is surprisingly common, though I didn't expect it to persist to today. Anecdotal accounts: my wife was told being left hand was evil (she was ambidextrous) and she was converted to fully right handed in 1st grade (1990s). My step-brother's kindergarten teacher constantly picked on him for being left hande…

> my wife was told being left hand was evil (she was ambidextrous) and she was converted to fully right handed in 1st grade (1990s).

The 1990s? Is that a typo?

Re: The geography of American left-handedness

#16
Forcing a child to write with their non-dominant hand can lead to all kinds of psychological trauma. Children can develop stutters, have a difficult time learning, and can experience profound secondary psychological effects.

Think about how much concentration it takes to write with your non-dominant hand. Now imagine being a child, being told you are somehow wrong _for being who and what you are_, and being forced to concentrate on working with your non-dominant hand while attempting to learn how to read, write, and do math.

This educator should be fired. She is clearly incompetent. Rather than supporting someone who already faces many challenges the right-handed world doens't face, she is actively attacking his psyche and making it more difficult for him to get an education.

Re: The geography of American left-handedness

#17
post #14
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never heard of fundamentalist Christians being anti-left-handed. And I am one.

It's certainly not a secular view.

> It's certainly not a secular view.

I don't see why not. I don't know that secular people are any less prone to ignorant ideas than people who are religious.

Re: The geography of American left-handedness

#18
post #3

I grew up in southeast Oklahoma, as well as all my family.. Teachers spewing off about left handedness being evil is surprisingly common, though I didn't expect it to persist to today. Anecdotal accounts: my wife was told being left hand was evil (she was ambidextrous) and she was converted to fully right handed in 1st grade (1990s). My step-brother's kindergarten teacher constantly picked on him for being left hande…

> my wife was told being left hand was evil (she was ambidextrous) and she was converted to fully right handed in 1st grade (1990s). The 1990s? Is that a typo?

[deleted]

Re: The geography of American left-handedness

#19
post #14
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never heard of fundamentalist Christians being anti-left-handed. And I am one.

It's certainly not a secular view.

There appears to be secular reasons behind this view in some cultures as well:

> In some areas, in order to preserve cleanliness where sanitation was an issue, the right hand, as the dominant hand of most individuals, was used for eating, handling food, and social interactions. The left hand would then be used for personal hygiene, specifically after urination and defecation. These rules were imposed on all, no matter their dominant hand. Through these practices, the left hand became known as the "unclean" hand. [1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_against_left-handed_peopl...

Re: The geography of American left-handedness

#20
post #7

My father's left handed, I'm left handed, my sister's ambidextrous. A couple of her kids are left handed. There is certainly a genetic component. My son's too young yet to have a dominant hand, but I make a point of putting things in his left hand. It's a lifestyle choice. I grew up in Australia in the 70s and 80s, and I don't recall any prejudice against left-handers at the time. I never even really thought about th…

> ..I make a point of putting things in his left hand. It's a lifestyle choice.

Could you expound on that?

Post reply on HN