Under the misguided aegis of the powerful Catholic Church, left-handedness was vigorously oppressed in medieval Europe, albeit not in any systematic way. Left-handers were routinely accused of consorting with the devil and, during the excesses of the Inquisition and the witch hunts of the 15th and 16th Century, left-handedness was sometimes considered sufficient to identify a woman as a witch, and to contribute to her subsequent condemnation and execution.18th and 19th Century
Despite the limited reforms of the Age of Reason and the Age of Enlightenment, the 18th and 19th Century were particularly hard on left-handers, and discrimination against them became engrained and institutionalized. Even in the relatively free societies of North America and Western Europe, deliberate and sometimes brutal attempts to suppress left-handedness and impose conformity in the education system were endemic during this time, including such practices as tying a child’s left hand behind his chair or corporal punishment for anyone caught writing with the left hand.
The infamous (but influential) 19th Century physician Cesare Lambroso, who identified various facial and racial characteristics with criminal traits, turned his attention to handedness at the end of the century and the start of the next and, perhaps not surprisingly, he identified left-handedness as a mark of pathological behaviour, savagery and criminality.
“Too many”? All humor aside, Why is this an issue? Do they not defend right handed players as well? If so, is the disadvantage not reciprocated when on offense?
Defensive GOAT, and left handed Bill Russell says hi with is 11 rings.
Is it rare because 90% of humans are right handed? Or is there a deficiency about left handers? Physical? Mental? Social?
11/29/2022 3:20 PM
