Cack Handed

Cack handed is an English slang for Left handedness which means to be clumsy. I am both left handed and tend be fairly clumsy. Like other labels and stereotypes, left handedness has it's history of stigmas associated with it.

Several cultures throughout the world see left handedness is seen as being immoral, wrong, and a shame to society. The United States use to also see it as a sign of natural evil to use the left hand dominantly. Matthew 25:41 states, "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Years ago teachers would swat and discipline children for using their left hand while writing. I am very thankful for progression! It was very cruel, but sadly this still goes on in certain parts of the world, and that type of thinking isn't completely outdated. There are still strict Catholics and Protestants who think that left handers should have to conform to the right handed society because it is 'simply wrong'. Some people even think that is it just as horrible for two left handers to marry as it is for a homosexual couple; as though the devil told the few of us to be left handed and gay.

There are however a few cultures that have some positive bits about being a south paw. In the Andes, we are considered to have special spiritual abilities. There are Buddhist tantras that teach the left hand as a representation of wisdom as does the Zuni tribe.

I decided to write this blog on being left handed because I know the struggles and triumphs of being left handed. Today my Grandmother challenged me to assembly a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe. I love challenges, and couldn't really say no because I had never assembled a large toy before. I thought it'd be simple to fit a few hunks of plastic together. After a couple hours, and I began to sweat my grandmother walked in and saw my problem immediately. "You're handicap because you're left handed." That was kind of the right thing to say because it just made me want to prove her wrong, but she was right to a degree. The thing was supposed to be assembled by a right handed person. The screws had to be placed in a way that after so much of the car is assembled you can't get to it with your left hand. The video instructions also showed the use of a power drill/screwdriver. Left handers and power tools don't usually mix that well, haha. After stripping a screw with the power tool, I had to switch back to a regular screw driver. I ended up cutting myself on a screw. Finally, I got the thing assembled, and I my final thoughts were that if I EVER had children...they were going to get a cardboard box to play with. I swear I'll have nightmares about it. (Hence, the scary photo I took of it above)

Left handers have to adapt in this crazy right handed world to the simplest of objects. I remember in elementary school being handed a pair of left handed scissors, but ended up having to learn how to use a regular pair because mine weren't sharpened enough to cut. Can openers, power tools, old computer mouses, corkscrews, and spiral notebooks are all annoying to work with, however we adapt. We've had to learn how to use both hands so equally, that if we broke our dominant hand we could easily learn how to pick up the slack with our right hand.

South paws may make up less than ten percent of the world's population, and at times it can be difficult..I almost think that we have the advantage.