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    09 August 2012| last updated at 09:45PM

    Perceptions

    By Angela Roselyn Anthony 16, Negri Sembilan

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    I am proud to say that I am a left-hander. It is a great honour to be part of this small group. However, society may not agree that being a left-hander is a great thing.

    In the olden times, left-handed people were discriminated against because of superstitions. Even though there is still some discrimination today, society back then was known to horribly torture left-handers.

    For example, at some point in history, left-handedness was seen as a mark of the Devil, and left-handed people were considered the Devil’s children. Also, in witchcraft texts dating back to medieval times in Europe, it is stated that left-handers have the power to curse or harm other people. So witches of that time were usually left-handed. For the curse to work, witches would have to touch the recipient with their left hand to convey the curse.

    In Morocco, left-handers are considered devils or cursed people. In Russia, being called a lefty is actually an insult.  So this is why many people who were born left-handed were forced to convert to using their right hand. To be honest, I was a bit hurt when I read all these facts about left-handed people.

    But now these things are in the past. Can you imagine how society would have treated us if we were alive back then?

    Today, the perception of left-handed people is very different. For example, at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, awards are given to top scorers who are left-handed. Isn’t that awesome? Also, research has shown that left-handed college graduates go on to becoming 26 per cent richer than right-handed graduates in general.

    The next time your friend calls you dim-witted, hit them with these facts.

    At St. Lawrence University, New York, tests have been conducted to prove that left-handers tend to have IQs over 140 more often than right-handed people.

    Some of the most famous left-handed people in history are Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton and Benjamin Franklin.

    It has also been proven that left-handed people tend to be more artistic than right-handed people.

    So you see, being a left-hander is viewed differently in the past than it is in the present. As much as I empathise with left-handers in the past, I’m glad to be born a left-hander because I feel special, and every other left-hander should feel this way too.

     

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