The Annual International Left Handers Day is this coming Sunday, August 13th. I guess I just like to shorten that to Lefties! However you say it, it’s still our day to celebrate our uniqueness, and try to get righties to understand our struggles are real and affect us in ways they can’t possibly imagine. Or if they do, they generally it blow off , since it doesn’t really concern them. We lefties need to declare our rights!
The first International Lefties Day was August 13, 1976. I was twenty-five at the time, and was immensely thrilled to learn that a day for us, yes, a day of our very own had been created! How could anyone look down on us now?
Well, they still do, and jokes abound. Happily, though, being left handed shouldn’t get us condemned as witches or warlocks anymore. (Having eaten bad rye bread could’ve gotten us the same sentence. But that’s another story . . .) I know that in certain countries, they consider a lefty inferior, and the use of this hand should be reserved for cleaning the toilet and your butt. Thankfully, I don’t live there. It’s a trial enough living where I can be a lefty . . . . although, as I mentioned, lefty needs are largely ignored, shrugged off, or made light of.
Lefties International Day has helped to raise awareness of our unique struggle trying to fit into a right handed world. Since we lefties comprise only ten percent of the world’s population, the various items we need to make life so much more tolerable are more expensive than those same righty items. Things like knives, scissors, notebooks, and even school desks might see a mark up of approximately 75 percent more for lefties. And those golf clubs? Why, they are marked up a whopping 200 percent depending on the brand you choose. Yes, and lefty guitars aren’t cheap, either!
I was pretty good with the accordion’s bass keys, I have to say. Better than the righty players. They picked up the keyboard side quicker than I did, but once I mastered the keyboard, I was able to get both sides to work at the same time! Heh!
And the decorations on mugs and slogans on pens and pencils are arranged so that they face outward only if you’re sipping your beverage right handed. Or, are right side up . . . Yeah, annoying!
So, how can you celebrate this day?
Be proud of your leftiness! Wear a shirt that clearly displays your pride!
Raise awareness to our struggles. Challenge a righty to write, eat, or throw a ball with the left hand. Some have said lefty school desks don’t exist. I happen to know that they do. I’ve had the occasion to actually sit at one in high school. Yes, it was a rarity, and I claimed it for my own when I spied it! When you challenge someone to write left handed, make sure to seat them so they have to reach around to do it, as if they were seated at a lefty desk.
Have him/her use a lefty can opener if you happen to have such a treasure. Have them unlock a door with their left hand. Going bowling? Have them toss a few using their left hand.
Take some videos of them attempting to do this stuff. Good for a few laughs! Lol!
I’ll have some more facts soon! Until then, have a great day!
