Sinister People: Left-Handed Smashers

[Rickety]

I was looking for a thread that I could pour my heart and soul into, but since I'm too ugly for the Las Pictoras thread

Spoiler

and since the LGBT thread is no more

, I looked at all my limbs and body parts for anything interesting, and even double-checked all that empty space between my ears, but I couldn't find anything interesting about me.

But then I remembered that I was left-handed! And that got me to thinking about any other left-handers out there: Do they like being kinda-sorta unique? Have they ever run into any lefty-related dilemmas? Do any them feel that their handedness might be a benefit in some ways (like drawing, writing, sports, or maybe even the ever-important Smash Brothers)?

I've heard someone make the argument that the left-hander represents the last great minority of modern society. That is, that while ethnic minorities and other groups like the LGBT community have taken steps towards equality, which many times meant standing strong in the face of adversity, he believes that the left-hander remains the last big group of people that lacks any sort of voice or political power. I mean, part of this seems like no big surprise: while lefties have had their share of problems and stigmas as recently as the 1980's, to even compare it to the hardships faced by other groups seems silly.

But still, I'd like to think to that there's at least something a little bit interesting about all this left-handed stuff. And so, at the risk of letting this turn into a "like, can openers are totally not friendly" thread, I'd like to know if there are any left-handers here, or lefty-curious folks, or even good-with-both-hands people.

Spoiler

And if nobody posts, then I guess that it'd be alright; I don't think that I'd be any bigger of a weirdo than I already am.

Maybe we'll be able to find something to talk about aside from those dreaded scissors and can openers. :]

 

[CAOTIC]

I is lefty. No problems, <3

 

[Rickety]

Omigosh, every time I start to think that I can't love you anymore than I already do, you do something like this and send me over the moon once more! <3

 

[jamlosingthegame]

I don't know if it's true, but I've heard some left-handed people are real intelligent. I guess I can see that in my left-handed friends.

 

[Peeze]

i smash with both hands...

 

[Fuelbi]

I wonder how you hold the gamecube controller if you are a lefty. Do you use the C-Stick as the analog stick or something?

Unluckily, Im just an ordinary, boring, unspecial right handed person. Its interesting to note how so many of the world's great minds have been left handed people. Einstein was a lefty for instance. That being said, its sad how so many great minds die before their time. Mozart so young, yet he had so much unexplored talent. And look at Hawkings. He looks like he might die at any moment. It brings me so much sadness that people who have such extraordinary minds die so young.

 

[CAOTIC]

Omigosh, every time I start to think that I can't love you anymore than I already do, you do something like this and send me over the moon once more! <3

Squeeeeeeeee! <3

San Diego Forever

 

[Jimmyfosho]

i write with my left hand.. i do everything else with my right hand like sports and whatnot

 

[INSANE CARZY GUY]

My hand writeing is just as bad with my left hand as my right. I know a few left handed people my step brother is and a lazy jerk who is somewhat smart. My dad is when he was in school they forced him to use his right hand ad they would smack him if he didn't.

Also my brother can dd faster than me in melee but other that I'm better with the stick lol I can SHFFL with it when he can't I use the stick for jumping out of the shine and short hop double laser with fox. Otherwise I can't do that stuff with X.

 

[Jonkku]

I'm a left-hander!

I hate writing by hand. You should know why, if you are or know any lefties yourself.

Maybe we'll be able to find something to talk about aside from those dreaded scissors and can openers. :]

"Ergonomically" shaped scissors make me cry.
Fortunately I've learnt how to use a can opener backwards, with my left hand.

I don't know if it's true, but I've heard some left-handed people are real intelligent. I guess I can see that in my left-handed friends.

I know this may sound like bragging, but I'm actually weeks ahead of most people on my class in a few subjects. (I highly doubt it has anything to do with my handedness though.. Or I would if the other guy who's also ahead of others wasn't also left-handed)

I wonder how you hold the gamecube controller if you are a lefty. Do you use the C-Stick as the analog stick or something?

No. But I use the Wiimote with my left hand, and the nunchuck with my right (Not in Brawl though, I don't use those in it).. Took a while to get used to, after always having control on left thumb, and actions on right one.

Does any leftie here actually use the computer mouse with their left hand? I know I don't, and it has actually surprised some people when they realised it (Why? o_O)

 

[MisterDrBob]

I wonder how you hold the gamecube controller if you are a lefty. Do you use the C-Stick as the analog stick or something?

No, what gave you that idea? I just hold it like normal. Same goes for Wiimote and Nunchuck. But if I'm not using the Nunchuck, I hold the Wiimote in my left hand.

I haven't really found being left-handed that extraordinary. It throws people for a loop in arm wrestling though! XD

 

[OmegaXXII]

Well I won't say that i'm a left hand person, but I tend to use it on a daily basis such as driving, playing sports, basically anything that would require me to pick up something and I tend to do this without me being aware of it!

 

[Omnicron's Baklava Enterprises]

More like Sinister People: Right-handed Smashers.

Either way, I write with my left hand, however I tend to throw with my right.
It's strange, people call me ambidextrous.

I have no side to choose, actually.

 

[VietGeek]

Being left-handed is awkward.

Also I happen to be terrible at arts-and-crafts. =/

 

[Thatfatcat]

I'm ambidextrous, but I was taught to do everything with my right. xD

 

[Fuelbi]

No, what gave you that idea? I just hold it like normal. Same goes for Wiimote and Nunchuck. But if I'm not using the Nunchuck, I hold the Wiimote in my left hand.

I haven't really found being left-handed that extraordinary. It throws people for a loop in arm wrestling though! XD

Well considering that the left stick is meant for right handed people, and all those buttons on the rig- look Im not gonna get in too much on the subject

 

[Mr.Freeman]

i smash with both hands...

Someone could misunderstand that..

 

[Geist]

Someone said moonwalking in melee was easier if you're left handed.

I can do most things with either hand on equal terms, except writing. I need to work on that more.

 

[ZMan]

left handed person here in the means of writing.

i usually do things with my right hand cept when it comes to writing or drawing. and my drawings and handwriting can only be described with the word "tragic."

 

[Healer]

I'm cross dominant not ambidexterous,
there's usually a misunderstanding with that, crossdominate means some stuff left, some stuff right, but not the same stuff and not equally
ambidextrous is both stuff near same equality.
in writing i classify myself as a lefty but most other things i do with my right, except eating, and brushing my teeth. I guess since this world is so right handed oriented u adapt to it. I play wii with my right hand, and sports, even though i don't really play sports.
Some good things about us lefties:
we're right brained or something like that
more intelligent
better athletes

Some bad things:
can't really right in chinese
2000 of us die a year for using right-handed tools
we were once thought of as devil worshippers, although i am a Christian....

some random things....anywhoo to Zman I would say my handwriting is pretty tragic too.

 

[BEES]

Left-Handed U.S. Presidents
James A. Garfield (1831-1881) 20th
Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) 31st
Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) 33rd
Gerald Ford (1913- ) 38th
Ronald Reagan (1911 - ) 40th
George H.W. Bush (1924- ) 41st
Bill Clinton (1946- ) 42nd
Barack Obama (1961- ) 44th

Creepy...

 

[BEES]

In 2006, researchers at Lafayette College and Johns Hopkins University in a study found that left-handed men are 15 percent richer than right-handed men for those who attended college, and 26 percent richer if they graduated. The wage difference remains unexplained, and does not appear to apply to women.[30]

This was not always the case in early guitar where the right hand was needed to master complex rhythm syncopation and finger independence.[citation needed] In addition while it may feel natural to use the right hand as the "fret" hand (opposite the a right handed person) it is becoming archaic to teach the neophite this application. It's actually advantageous for a left handed person to play a guitar as a right handed person because the modern playing style requires more precise and versatile movement from the hand fretting the notes than plucking the strings, and conversely a right handed person would gain the same benefits by learning to play guitar left-handed. Notable practitioners of this theory include former Dire Straits lead singer and lead guitarist Mark Knopfler,Bee Gees member Barry Gibb and Simon And Garfunkel member Paul Simon.

As of 2009, three or four (counting Reagan) out of the last five presidents have been left-handed.[3] Counting as far back as Truman, the number is five (or six) out of twelve. In the 1992 election, all three major candidates – George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot – were left-handed.[2] The 1996 election also involved three left-handed candidates: Clinton, Perot, and Bob Dole, who learned to use his left hand after his right hand was paralyzed by a World War II injury. Additionally, both major-party candidates in the 2008 presidential election – Barack Obama and John McCain – were left-handed.[7] The percentage of the population who are left-handed is about 10%.[3] While some write this trend off as a coincidence, others have tried to come up with scientific explanations. According to Daniel Geschwind, a professor of human genetics at UCLA: "Six out of the past 12 presidents is statistically significant, and probably means something".[3]

Also, a modern keyboard/mouse setup is advantageous to left-handers. A lefty can use the mouse and write something at the same time, while us righties can't .

The QWERTY keyboard layout is favorable to lefties as well, since the most common letters of the english alphabet are mostly on the left side (E, S, A, T, D, C). More words can be typed with the left hand alone than with the right.

 

[gm jack]

Probably because early presidents were in a society where left handedness was a stigma, so were forced into using their right hand.

 

[BEES]

That does not explain why left handed presidents are much more common now than the proportion of lefties in the general population.

 

[Igcoris]

i hate smudging my left hand with lead from a pencil while i try to write. the only time i use my right hand is when i go bowling. everything else is left handed.

other than that, i don't notice anything too special about me.

 

[TheZhuKeeper]

Someone said moonwalking in melee was easier if you're left handed.

I can do most things with either hand on equal terms, except writing. I need to work on that more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sjDmQlRRlo

maybe it's just a coincidence silentspectre and I are left handed =)

And being left handed might explain my dash dance =D


I feel like being left handed is advantageous in alot of things. For instance, I played badminton in high school (not at an extremely competitive level, but I did play for my high school) and being left handed really throws people off. People would hit to my forehand thinking it was my backhand, and stuff like that. I'm sure this applies to tennis, fencing, boxing, etc.

Wiki did say that left handed people have on average, a shorter life span. That and me being a guy, (on the loose assumption that the averaged shorter life spans are additive) I'd live like 10+ years less than right handed girls LOL (someone please correct me LOL)

 

[Fuelbi]

Left-Handed U.S. Presidents
James A. Garfield (1831-1881) 20th
Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) 31st
Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) 33rd
Gerald Ford (1913- ) 38th
Ronald Reagan (1911 - ) 40th
George H.W. Bush (1924- ) 41st
Bill Clinton (1946- ) 42nd
Barack Obama (1961- ) 44th

Creepy...

Remember how I said about the intelligent left people and such? Scratch that I have no idea what could have possibly given me that idea. Im surprised that from this list, George Bush Jr. isn't on this list............

 

[Proverbs]

I don't know if it's true, but I've heard some left-handed people are real intelligent. I guess I can see that in my left-handed friends.

I've heard some right handed people are real intelligent too. And some ambidextrous people as well. There are 'some people' who are real intelligent. It has nothing to do with handedness.

As far as left-handers receiving political representation in the way same way other groups, that would be a little ridiculous, if you ask me. However, I also think that the idea of 'political power' for minorities has done more to isolate them than to equalize. To discriminate simply means to be able to tell one thing from another. Discriminating isn't a bad thing at all. I can be discriminatory with what I eat--noticing that some things are good for me and others are bad. But if we really want to move toward real equality and nondiscrimination (meaning that we don't see people as of a particular group, but rather all as humans), then we might be working against ourselves. At my college I see groups for Asian students, for gay and lesbian students, and for black students--as well as other racial groups, I'm sure.

In my mind, this does more to separate people than to bring them together. As long as we keep thinking in terms of blacks being equal with whites, we'll never get anywhere. We need to stop thinking of black and white and need to start thinking of people as simply human. Someone's race does not define who they are as a person (as opposed to someone's gender, which does affect how they act biologically). I've met 'black' people who act 'white' and vice versa. But what does it matter? When we start thinking in terms of personality and individuality, we lose the idea of specific groups, which is a better movement toward nondiscrimination. Likewise, handedness does not influence someone's personality (someone may argue that handedness does affect how someone thinks. I would disagree except in terms of societal factors, and would say that handedness might be a symptom of how one thinks, but all this is beside the point). Wouldn't it be better, rather than looking for and celebrating differences in things that do not affect how we act, than doing the same for things that do affect the way we think and act--things like religion, hobbies, and philosophy.

This has probably gotten off-topic, and feel free to dismiss what I'm saying for the sake of the topic, but it was mentioned in the OP, so I feel like it was worth bringing up.

 

[SuperBowser]

I personally don't see how a LGBT group is a bad thing.

You may not see the point in it, but for lots of people it's a safe environment for them to just be themselves and talk to people with similar experiences.

 

[Peeze]

Someone could misunderstand that..

Thus the trailing ellipses to allow the reader to draw their own conclusion.
The same method you in fact used.

 

[Jonbebe]

when writing with a pencil I get **** all over my hand

 

[xxFrohawkxx]

The only problem when it comes to being a left should be in fighting and wrestling.

When i go against a lefty their stance makes me have to shuffle to go for a single leg or it may be easier for them to get me somehow....

 

[MisterDrBob]

Oh, I forgot I play guitar right-handed.

 

[The Irish Mafia]

I'm left handed.
I moonwalk better. :D
I really don't notice much difference in playing smash, so it all works out

ps rickety you're awesome

 

[Mota]

Rafael Nadal plays tennis with his left hand, but does everything else with his right.

 

[~N9NE~]

Left handed right here!

Fun fact: Joe Budden's left handed also!

 

[Mr.Freeman]

when writing with a pencil I get **** all over my hand

I think everybody gets that, including myself. Same with pens and markers.

 

[Jim Morrison]

gf2tw reporting in!
Left hand is the ****.

 

[~N9NE~]

About the writing thing, I used to get the stain marks. Now it's just when I'm drawing.

People always complain they can't see what I'm writing because my hand's in the way lol.

 

[Silent Beast]

Does any leftie here actually use the computer mouse with their left hand? I know I don't, and it has actually surprised some people when they realised it (Why? o_O)

I'll generally use my right hand for the mouse, though I do switch to my left every so often, if my mouse happens to be closer to my left hand. When I use the touchpad on my laptop, though, I always use my left hand. And yeah, I've gotten the surprise from other people about using the mouse right-handed, too. It amuses me, though I guess their surprise is logical. I guess I (and most other lefties) learned to use the mouse with my right hand because the mouse is always placed on the right side of the computer. I probably found using a mouse with my right hand awkward back when I first used a computer sometime in elementary school, but, like scissors, I guess I just got used to it, since there wasn't enough room/the cord wasn't long enough to move the mouse over to the left side.

Some bad things:
can't really right in chinese

Idk, I've never really noticed any difficulty in writing kanji with my left hand. I remember my mom, who's Japanese, asked me about that, and seemed surprised that I didn't think writing with my left hand was especially difficult. Apparently the strokes were designed for right-handers, but it seems perfectly fine, to me, for left-handers.

Either way, I write with my left hand, however I tend to throw with my right.
It's strange, people call me ambidextrous.

Rafael Nadal plays tennis with his left hand, but does everything else with his right.

Yeah, though I throw lefty, for some reason, I naturally bat righty, which, as anyone who follows baseball has noticed, is super rare, especially among position players. I did eventually teach myself to bat left, and now, I think I'm better from the left side, though, make no mistake about it, I'm horrible from either side.

The Hardball Times had a series of articles last year about players that threw left and hit right, for anyone who's interested:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6