Left Handed Folks

I told the wife I would post this for her here...as my crowd are a far more civil one than the others she has encountered...She posted this on her Weight Watchers board and they tore her a new Ahole....

Anyway...just read it and forward her your reactions....And I thank you all greatly for the help....

Snip:

Hey...I'm went back to college last year to finish my degree, so I've become one of those married-mom-type broads that I used to hate so much when I was in college before, because they got straight A's and messed up the grading curve.
I'm a Business Communications major, and am currently taking "Reporting and Newswriting". I have an assignment where I need to get reactions from some left-handed people on a particular news story, and then write a corresponding piece on the reactions.
First I need to know this: what kind of challenges do you face day-to-day because you're left handed?
Secondly, react to this information: A USC study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has shown that the life expectancy of left-handed people is about 9 years less than right-handed people, they are four times more likely to die from injuries while driving, and six times more likely to die from accidents of any kind. This is based on a sample of the death certificates of 987 people from two Southern California counties.
Thoughts on this? Comments?
If you're left handed, and can take a few moments to help me out and respond to this sometime before Sunday evening, I'd really appreciate it.
Use the boards, or email me at beldame@verizon.net if you prefer.

Thanks!

What's the deal with the WW board? Why would they have problem with this, I wonder?

I'm left handed and I dont think I ever felt handicaped because of it. Maybe it is coz I have adapted and learned to use my right hand equally well, who knows?

The one time I did feel handicaped was in college - we had a computer lab and some idiot has put a lock-up devices on mouse cables so they cannot be stolen. As a result the clables were shortened and one can use the mouse only on the right side of the keyboard. I do use the mouse with my left hand and it did bother me greatly (it was a design class where one NEED to use the mouse for very precise drawings, else I dont have a problem for casual mouse usage with my right hand).

That was the only negative experience I can remember of. Needless to say I complained and they did made one of the computers for left-handed people, which turned out to be an advantage at the end coz I did have the same machine always "reserved" for me

Driving, never bothered me. In fact if I have to switch and start shifting gears with my left hand I may be challenged .

I dont know if I'll live less than the average right handed people. If I die earlier it definitely would be either due the alcohol abuse I'm putting my liver constanly under, my overweight and lack of excersizing, or something else not related to my left hand for sure. That's how I feel it.

According to the injuries: I guess I'd be more susceptible to them if using some specific right-handed equipment I'm not familiar with. To say if I have to use a chainsaw with non-switchable handle. But again I think in such situation I'd be much more careful what I'm doing than the average right-joe, so I'm not really sure if this study is true either.

Hope this will help you out with your research. Cheers

My wife thanks you both for your replies...she has enough to finish her paper now....

I'm a lefty and I've never thought of it as any sort of handicapp. I function in normal society just like everyone else. The only time I remember it being a problem was when I was a kid playing little league. Finding a baseball glove to put on the right hand was always a chore. That was 25 years ago, so I think they've made more since then.