“Time to wake up and smell the coffee: dormant and stagnant brains breed worms!”

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, being 'left-handed' means using the left hand habitually or more easily than the right. 

Other definitions say having the left hand more dominant and effective than using the right hand in writing, doing sports, picking up things and in creative activities. They are generally referred to as; lefties, Southpaws and left-handed persons.

Southpaws, lefties or left-handed people are to be left alone no matter what. And no matter how the “cultural tradition that denigrates or makes filthy the left hand” argument is presented, there would be no justification whatsoever in an era where people question everything to find substance and also to gauge value. 

No matter the generation you belong to, whether old school, new school, millennials or Gen Z, there would not be enough reasons to defend a backward cultural tradition that definitively assigns two hands on one human body to specific duties that incarcerates one of the hands into a filthy judgmental prison of unworthiness. When in actuality every person needs both to handle and do many things.

Just like right-handed people go about their business on a daily basis without being questioned why they use their right hand, I believe left handed people needs to enjoy same freedom. This is simply because lefties, or south paws would naturally not see it as an offense if they have to use their left hand at any given opportunity, especially when most of their actions are involuntary. 

If you are struggling to understand, please try slapping or hitting a left handed person so we see if their reflex action at the spur of the moment would be to use their right or left to defend themselves. We just have to be reasonable. Highlighting a practice invented by cultural traditions over reasoning and evolvement or growth of society is backward in every sense.

Many brilliant children had to go through disciplinary actions comparable to fire and brimstone to alter their naturally gifted left handedness to right-handedness. No leftie  pretends or disrespectfully decides to use their left hands. They involuntarily use their left hands like you do with your right hand but your entrenched cultural tradition and indoctrination would not make you judge rightly. 

Some people with inferiority complex cannot think beyond their scope of knowledge and reality of their scarcity inflicted livelihoods. Before you judge me, I am not a millionaire yet and also not condescending, I’m stating facts.

How do people who shy away from being handed things with the left hand never complain about the coconut sellers who always hand the fruit to customers with their left hands while “wielding” their cutlasses with the right? Is it fear, consideration, oversight or selective thinking or practice of uprightness. Most of the people who are on the opposing side of the divide would not reject a 100,000 dollar gift if it was handed to them with the left hand. 

Almost none of the accusers of lefties or the usage of the left hand would reject keys to a brand new Ferrari, Bugatti, Rolce Royce, Range Rover, Mansion or return tickets to holiday destinations if it was handed to them with the left hand. Yes! Many have done unimaginable things or been subjected to many unreasonable ordeals that the left hand is very innocent of. Some women for instance find the left hand worthy of praise when they receive engagement and wedding rings to flaunt because someone spent a fortune on them.

People were at some point eating human fecal matter (Porta Potty) to satisfy the fetishes of people they didn’t know in a foreign land just to become millionaires in their home land. Which is more disgusting compared to receiving anything with the left hand. Unfortunately, taking something from a left-handed person using their left is termed disrespectful, filthy and sacrilegious in some societies. How many people would reject gold or diamonds if they were presented to them with the left hand? Think about the process of getting gold(Galamsey) and the risks before you answer. 

This means being stuck to an archaic or primitive tradition of not using the left hand (because we claim it is disrespectful is a very poor way of looking at the situation) which has no effect on the development and evolvement of anybody but rather marginalizes a whole bunch of innocent folks who did nothing wrong but came into this space of existence left handed. All in the name of some cultural traditions and moral standards. None of those folks are morally sound, most are morally bankrupt. 

We are educated and enlightened people and must move away from the primitive ways of doing things. Saying “sorry for left” doesn’t mean anything(because you’re still handing over whatever it is with the same left hand only this time you’re adding words) to a whole bunch of enlightened folks today. We have carried backward cultural traditions on our backs for too long. This continent and country is drowning everyday with such cultural traditions that limits the mind from achieving great things.

There must be something wrong with one’s psyche(or having a huge psychological problem) if they get offended that a South Paw whose right hand is occupied used his left hand to do something. Getting offended with a South paw using his left hand and asking them to say sorry for doing voluntarily what you do with your right hand without saying sorry to anyone is preposterous. You should rather get angry with a right handed person who uses their left and then adds the statement: “sorry for left”. 

We speak with elders with hands behind our backs; elsewhere in this small world, it is a sign of drawing a weapon and it can get you shot by another person or even the police in some situations; even if you had no such idea. This is why we have reforms; we learn, unlearn to relearn.

Maybe you are for the popular mantra when you go to Rome you do what Romans do; many cultures don’t believe women must be independent, self sufficient, rich, intelligent, breadwinner, leader, assertive and so on; yet we have many powerful women today breaking those backward thinking and foundations that inhibit the female gender. So many religious sects and societies are against homosexuality yet we have gays and lesbians especially cross dressers everywhere. Are the people in Rome questioning why these folks in Rome are not doing what Romans do?

Leonardo Da Vinci, Lionel Messi, Barrack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, Prince William, Bill Clinton, Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Manny Pacquiao and many others wouldn’t be a household name or great people if they were forced to say sorry every time they used their left hands or feet to do anything creative or exceptional.

If you are active on social media and align with those that seek to “press the necks” of those who are natural lefties or accidentally out of some inconvenience used their left hands and were treated indifferently, just know you are part of the reason many left handed people are intimidated, sluggish, inferior and timid. Wash your face and rinse your brains in wisdom. We are in the age and era of information.

NB: The writer is a freelance media practitioner, activist, preacher and humanitarian.