Recently there was a news story about an Oklahoma teacher who 'forced' a 4 year old boy to write with his right hand rather than his left. Investigations are ongoing, but it seems as though the teacher was concerned about associations with left handedness and unlucky or wicked behaviour.
Whilst this may sound strange today, it wasn't so very long ago that making left handers write with their non-dominant hands was usual practice in schools. But why was (and, as it now appears, is) being left handed such a problem?
Throughout history, the left side of the body was considered to be a negative influence. In fact, the Latin word 'sinistra' meant both 'left' and 'evil' or 'unlucky', so the idea was well ingrained in society. Today, 'sinistra' has become 'sinister', so the wicked connotations remain. This, along with the idea that the word 'right' also means 'correct' and 'proper', reinforces the belief that anything on the left side had to be influenced by evil in some way.
Superstition has us throwing salt over our left shoulder when we spill it. Why? To blind the devil that sits there. A devil on the left shoulder is counterbalanced by an angel on the right, so turning to the left, using the left side of the body, working with the left in anyway is seen as working or using the devil. Bad stuff indeed. Whereas using the right side of the body is seen as working with the angels, which, of course, is seen as a much better option.
There are always studies going on to discover why some people are left handed and others (the majority of society) are right handed, but as yet there is no conclusive evidence for anything. Maybe one day we will understand, or maybe - as I believe is most likely the case - there is no reason. It just is.
I'm a left hander, and so is my daughter. So far so good for both of us - we've not yet met the devil. But I suppose I'll keep throwing the salt just to make sure...
