Klarinet Archive - Posting 000979.txt from 2003/06

From: "Wendy" <bosma@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Left, Right or mixed handed?
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2003 11:39:05 -0400

>You can call your Grandfather's left-handedness anything you want but by
>definition it was definitely a handicap, since it forced him to drop out of
>school.

Um, which of the definitions you provided illustrate this? It's not a
sport, it's not a physical disability, and lots of people have hindrances
without being forced to drop out of school.

>It's a prime example of the
>"majority" forcing its will on the minority and we still have some doing
>this in the form of conducting teachers who insist their students conduct
>only one way.

no, this is a prime example of old school ways of thought. Back in the
one-room schoolhouse days there were lots of ideas being taught and enforced
that we no longer believe in.

>Your note leaves one with the impression that anyone with a handicap
>ought to be ashamed of it and that it is somehow shameful to accept
>assistance or accommodations for that handicap.

no, not at all. my note leaves one with the impression that there are many
serious handicaps out there and you poor little left-hander should not be
complaining in the slightest. At least you have a left hand.

>I do have ADD but my IQ is still 128 and I sailed through school as child
with honors. It
>was not until I was older that I realized I had this condition and exactly
>how hard I had been working all those years to compensate

what does having ADD have to do with your left hand?

> My father-in-law has one arm after having the other one blown off while
>attempting to rescue friends from a plane crash during the Korean War. He
>doesn't view it as a "handicap" either but others certainly do and have
made

this, I certainly view as a handicap. If he doesn't want to come to terms
with that, it's okay with me.

>A handicap that
>is not visible to others is very difficult to people to understand and to
>have any empathy for.

I do believe you have a handicap that is not visible and you're right about
me not having any empathy for it. And I'm not referring to your
left-handedness. :)

Have a Nice Day!!
Wendy :)

-----Original Message-----
From: Christy Erickson [mailto:perickso@-----.net]
Subject: RE: [kl] Left, Right or mixed handed?

Wendy, There are many handicaps that are not visible. Below is a
dictionary definition of handicap.

Sports & Games.
1. A race or contest in which advantages or compensations are given
different contestants to equalize the chances of winning.
Such an advantage or penalty.

2. A physical or mental disability. See Synonyms at disadvantage.

3. A hindrance.

You can call your Grandfather's left-handedness anything you want but by
definition it was definitely a handicap, since it forced him to drop out of
school. His teacher obviously viewed the left-handedness as a handicap and
a hindrance, as evidenced by her attempts to have your Grandfather conform
to her wishes. It sounds like he loved being a carpenter but who knows what
may have happened if he hadn't had some ignorant mean woman hitting him with
a hickory stick, prompting him to quit school? It's a prime example of the
"majority" forcing its will on the minority and we still have some doing
this in the form of conducting teachers who insist their students conduct
only one way.
Your note leaves one with the impression that anyone with a handicap
ought to be ashamed of it and that it is somehow shameful to accept
assistance or accommodations for that handicap. I guess it's OK to be "old"
and accept assistance, but certainly not "handicapped!" Horrors! It is
exactly this type of attitude that needs to be abolished. May I remind you
that anyone one of us could find ourselves in the position of being
handicapped at any time.
My father-in-law has one arm after having the other one blown off while
attempting to rescue friends from a plane crash during the Korean War. He
doesn't view it as a "handicap" either but others certainly do and have made
some rather rude and bizarre comments to him through the years. He also,
has always been too proud to accept accommodations for his handicap,
although he has had no trouble collecting the extra military benefits all
these years for his injury. (they haven't come even close to the millions
received by relatives of the 911 victims)
Thanks for the coffee cup offer but I don't hold a cup in my left hand
Wendy. I also definitely don't need financial assistance and I am not
ashamed of calling my left-handedness a hindrance at times. I do have ADD
but my IQ is still 128 and I sailed through school as child with honors. It
was not until I was older that I realized I had this condition and exactly
how hard I had been working all those years to compensate. A handicap that
is not visible to others is very difficult to people to understand and to
have any empathy for.
My daughter also has ADHD and my 10 year old son has early onset bipolar
disorder (now that's a handicap!). You would not believe the prejudices and
the lack of respect we received when trying to work with our school district
to get accommodations for his disorder. He is also very bright (also very
left-handed) and people seemed to think he could simply behave in a state of
mania just because he should have been "smart enough to know better." When
his first grade teacher tested his reading skills in first grade, she said
he was reading at the fifth grade level. People didn't seem to believe that
a child that bright could have such a severe handicap but he does. That
does not mean that he does not have bright future ahead of him but the first
step in creating that bright future was recognizing his disease and
accepting it so he could get the help he needs to learn to compensate for
his problems.

Christy

"All of us have gifts, but some of us open our packages later than others."

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