No, I'm not talking politics! I'm talking about the 10% of the population who are dominated by the right hemisphere of their brains (i.e., those who are in their right minds!).

Many famous and infamous people are "southpaws," besides Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stalone), including our current and recent past presidents, Marilyn Monroe, and many more.

Aside from being a minority oppressed by the right-handed majority, lefties have been subjected to discriminatory propaganda throughout history and in several languages. For example, in French, the word for left is synonymous with "clumsy" (i.e., gauche), while the Latin word for right (dexter) is the root for the word "dextrous," which is synonynmous with agile and skilled.

I firmly believe the source of this anti-lefty propaganda stems from the Latin and that results from an ancient battle between Romans and Israelites. The Israelites fielded an army of 400 picked left-handed soldiers who routed and massacred two Roman legions. The Romans (all right-handed), were used to having their shield facing their enemy's sword, but found themselves open to attack when facing a left-hander! Following this battle, the Latin word for left ("sinister") took on added significance!

I applaud my left-handedness and I accept all my fellow lefties as brother and sisters: "We few, we happy few, we band of southpaws!" Any on the RJ board fellow southpaws?

Let righties beware! When you shake hands with a lefty, your strongest hand is down and our sinister left can go whup upside yo' head at any moment!

NYj

Been in my right mind all my life and unlike many of my generation, I was never forced to write with the 'right' hand. While at High School I managed to break my left arm the week before I was due to sit my final exams. Panic ensued by the teaching staff and the only exams I could sit were those that had multiple choice answer sheets. Fortunately, in those days we used to sit 'mocks' the term before the finals were due and the examining body allowed the results from these to stand alongside what few I was able to submit papers for. During the eight weeks I was in plaster I managed to achieve a fair ability to write using my 'other' hand. (It will never be the 'right' one.) It's something I'm still able to do now and allows me to create calligraphy projects, something nigh on impossible to do to good effect using your left hand.

Another lefty here. I'm even left eyed dominant when it comes to sighting.

I married a lefty. Though he's a mix of left/right dominance depending on the activity, which he finds endlessly amusing.

I can manage to use a fork to eat left handed when frequent use of a knife is required, but otherwise it's like trying to use a hand that's half numb. I'm all right side dominant.

SPOILER ALERT "Inglorious Basterds"

During WWII, American OSS agents had to be taught to eat in the European-style, otherwise, they risked giving themselves away in a restaurant. While style has changed somewhat in America, back then, it was usual for one to cut their food with the knife in their right hand and the fork in their left, and then switch the fork to the right hand to eat. Europeans did not switch, but kept the fork in their left and the knife in their right, which is the way we lefties eat.


It reminds me of the scene in "Inglorious Basterds," when an American gives himself away by the way he asks for three beers with his fingers.

Part of your "legend" is adopting common mannerisms and traits of the population you are being inserted into. It's just as important as documents and "pocket litter" (ticket stubs, matchbooks, etc.) you carry in case you are searched.

Ever since that movie I use numerical finger indications in the German way because I realized that it puts less strain on my fingers. Thank you, Quentin Tarantino.

Another lefty - I was never forced to write with my right hand. My mom was rather adamant, though, that I learn how to eat right handed. She grew up with lefties in her family and it made seating arrangements odd in restaurants and other situations when it was just dinner at home. What I think is really odd is that the lefties in her family were allowed to eat and write left handed, especially when you consider the thinking back in those days.

I use right handed scissors, mainly because I used to lose "my" scissors all the time as a kid. So I just got used to it.

Oh, and I was adopted so it's not like my left-handedness came from my mom's side of the family...er...well, you know what I mean. Sort of...