You have to admit there's something a little bit strange about left-handed people. They write weird, need their own special golf clubs, and always ask to set on the outside of the booth like whiny little prima donnas. Seriously, left-handed people are awful. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
Well, it looks like more people are starting to come to this frightening realization. On Monday, KFOR told us about an Okemah teacher that sent some left-handed four-year-old kid home with a letter that accurately claimed left-handed people are evil and the work of the devil.
Here's the story from Hot Girl Friday nominee Abby Broyles:
A 4-year-old was allegedly forced by his teacher to write with his right hand, even though he’s left-handed.
The child was sent home with a letter about how left-handedness is often associated with evil and the devil.
Zayde is only 4 years old.
Alisha asked him why he was writing with his right hand, not his left.
“I just asked ‘Is there anything his teachers ever asked about his hands?’ And he raises this one and says this one’s bad,” Sands said.
Alisha sent the teacher a note and got a strong response.
It was an article calling left-handedness “unlucky,” “evil,” and “sinister.”
It even says “for example, the devil is often portrayed as left-handed.”
Alisha couldn’t believe it.
Wow! We have a Derplahoman teacher to skewer and an excuse to make fun of left-handed losers like James Harden, Ned Flanders and my brother Dylan. That sounds almost too good to be true! Sadly, it probably is.
I decided to check out the anti-left-handed letter that KFOR flashed on their screen just to make sure the demonizing claims were legit. The letter allegedly came from PediatricEducation.org, a website run by Dr. Donna D'Alessandro. She's a Professor of Pediatrics at University of Iowa.
Guess what I found....
When Will I Know Which Hand She Will Use?
Patient Presentation
A 3-year-old female came to clinic for her health supervision visit. During the visit she drew on the chalkboard a circle with two lines sticking out of it representing limbs. When she was asked to draw her dog, she switched the chalk to the other hand and continued drawing. Her mother noted that the preschooler switched hands often while drawing, and wanted to know when she would develop a hand dominance. The pertinent physical exam showed a healthy female with growth parameters in the 75-90%. Her examination was normal including her neurological examination. The diagnosis of a healthy preschooler was made. The resident wasn’t entirely sure when children develop hand dominance but told the mother that he was sure that it was common at her age to use both hands with writing but by around kindergarten most children had developed a hand dominance.
Discussion
Most children and adults do develop a hand dominance. Right-handedness is more common (70-90%) than left-handedness (8-10%). In many western cultures, right-handedness was/is considered the “correct” or “right” hand to use, and left-handedness was unlucky, inauspicious or frankly evil. The word “sinister,” meaning left-sided, derives from various sources as early as the 15th century. There are numerous instances of left-handedness being associated with wickedness. For example, the devil is often portrayed as left-handed, and people throw salt over their left shoulder to ward off the evil spirits that dwell there.
Many left-handed people report being able to use their right hand very well for certain tasks because of needing to adapt to tools which are usually designed for right-handed people such as scissors, golf clubs, etc. Some people are also mix-handed, where they perform some tasks with one hand and other tasks with the opposite hand. Some people have true ambidexterity where they can perform tasks equally well with both hands.
Learning Point
Children begin to develop hand dominance around 2-3 years and this should be well developed by age 5 and fully developed by age 6. Use of a dominant hand before 2-3 years time may occur because of abnormal fine motor development. It could also be the result of intracranial injury or injury to a limb with appropriate compensation by the other limb. Development of hand dominance after 6 years, again may indicate abnormal development. Referral to an occupational therapist may be indicated, and referral indications can be reviewed here.
Call me left-handed if you want, but I don't really see where it claims left-handed weirdos are "sinister" or "evil" or "the devil." Now, it does provide somewhat awkward, anecdotal, and slightly unnecessary historical facts about how left-handed people were once looked down upon by society, but that's it. It doesn't assert that being left-handed is evil or wrong (even though it probably is), and claiming it does so is an overreach and takes everything out of context. It would be like a teacher showing a parent of a left-handed kid this KFOR news report, and then some parent running to me claiming that KFOR thinks left-handed four-year-olds are “unlucky,” “evil,” and “sinister,” which once again, is probably true.
Now don't get me wrong. There's still a chance the teacher in all this is a wacko and thinks left-handed people are possessed (this is Derplahoma we're talking about), but keep in mind we're counting on the testimony of a four-year-old left-handed boy, his mother, and KFOR Channel 4 to come this conclusion. That's about as crazy as trusting a left-handed person to house sit. How do we know the teacher didn't catch the boy picking his nose and that's why the left hand is bad? Maybe the teacher misinterpreted the parent's note and simply wanted to share an article about early childhood development of hand dominance? Perhaps the kid really is evil because he's left-handed? Who knows. Nothing would surprise me.
