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Re: minorities

On Tue, 12 Jun 2001, Don Smith wrote:

> > are you left handed? you're a minority!
> 
> Being a lefty, I really enjoyed the following story I was told about a
> conference on racial priveledge.  A reporter was interviewing the
> keynote speaker, and being rather skeptical about the whole idea of
> white priveledge, and she said "are you right handed?"  He affirmed
> that he was, and she said "Go and open that door with your left hand".  
> It happened to be one of those door handles that rotates downward to
> open the door, so he had to twist his wrist into an awkward position
> to open the latch, and then he had to push the door across his body, a
> contortion made more uncomfortable because the wrist was already
> twisted.  It would never occur to a right-hander that there was
> anything remotely problematic about the door.  With the right hand,
> it's just:

something really funny - when a rightie breaks their arm, they can do
hardly anything ,  it seems like.

when i broke my left arm - it gave me a headache to try switching my frame
of reference. from making checkmarks to reach for a door.

things that lefties have rought time with *scissors*. computer
mouse. telephones - the one with cords, you hold it in your right hand and
try to dial on one of those desk type phones - you tangle to cord in your
arms.  potato peelers and can openers.

and my all time beef - notebooks and notebook paper. until i discovered a
lefthanded spiralnotebook - it's reverses (: someone said 'why do you use
that? it's so silly' i asked them to write in it, please - his hand got
all bumped against the spirals.

> comfortable.  That's what majority priveledge is all about.  The
> "natural" way things are work in ways that are comfortable for you,
> and in such a way that you don't ever have to think about it.  Those
> of us that are different have to either train ourselves to fit the
> mold (I open doors right-handed, most of the time), or be subjected to
> constant annoyance and discomfort.  And lest someone discount lefties
> as a minority, I could list *dozens* of everyday things that are set
> up for the convenience of righties: subway turnstiles (the ticket goes
> to the right, and often I forget and put it in the left, meaning I
> just let the person to my left in for free and I get a locked steel
> bar in the crotch), those lecture hall desks that pull out to the

good explanation.

rhys

-- 
Anything that happens happens. Anything that, in happening, causes something 
else to happen, causes something else to happen. Anything that, in happening, 
causes itself to happen again, happens again. It doesn't necessarily do it in 
chronological order, though. Douglas Adams

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