Dexter-Normative

A couple days back, a JET posted about how they had noticed some of their junior high school students had been using some pretty bad handwriting, so he offered to help them. To which his Japanese coworker had replied that she was "already on it". Much to his horror (and my own upon reading it), he found out she had been forcing the left-handed students to write right-handed.

It reminded me of when Nintendo had converting Link, who had always been left-handed like his creator, to a right-handed person when they released the game on the Wii, reversing everything in the game to do it because it would be easier for right-handed people to play. Which is clearly all anyone cares about. If it was important enough to switch, it ought to have been important enough to leave it the way it is. You see a lot of this kind of discrimination, and I get tired of it. I had thought about what I would do if one of my coworkers had told me that. I thought I would stand up and tell them to stop that right that instant.

I went to the school and tried bringing it up to make sure that no one was doing that. The first teacher I talked to didn't quit seem to be doing anything of the sorts, but did not seem to object too much to it. Then I went back to my desk and did more non-work like usual. Eventually, I wandered over to my favorite teacher's desk next to the heater. The heater's not on anymore apparently (hurray, warm weather!), but out of habit, I guess, I just hovered over it long enough for another teacher to show up with a mitt. I guess she had found it outside or something. I joked it was mine, but then noticed it was for a left hand and thus couldn't be mine.

That's when I mentioned the story to the teacher.

I can't remember what she said initially, but then she said she was teaching her son to write right-handed.

I was shocked, I didn't know what to do say. I just kept repeating 「最低。最低。最低。」 She kept replying "I don't think so" or tried to justify herself by saying she didn't mind if he did sports left-handed or how she wasn't forcing him to, she just would say, "Which hand are you using?" when he used his left hand.

I eventually stormed away, but since my computer was having some anti-virus being installed, I left and wandered the school. Just kind of stared into the distance until some teacher and then some student was trying to figure out what I was staring at and then I wandered off to sit at one of the desks the students use to study.

I watched the students begin to go home and I thought about how I needed to at English Club to listen to the practice speeches, which the students will be competing with tomorrow. I came late and missed the girl that used to always be mad at me's speech, but heard the other one. Naturally, she forced me to apologize, but then skipped off. The other students went to the club room to make the board (yes, again) for Valentine's Day / Graduation, and we practiced a bit more before I went and joined them.

My day had been so great. I had wandered around outside and found the 2nd years playing soccer, and I played with them, even though I was wearing a suit that day for yearbook photos. Taking those was kind of fun, too. Though the wind made it a bit difficult. The school even decided to have me check and correct the English in it. "Happy days come again" became "Happy High School Days." After soccer, I wandered around and bothered the students during lunch, which made a few of them very happy. So I was very surprised my day had to end so poorly with discovering that out of all the teachers, my favorite one would be so terrible.

I hope one day people will finally get over this stupid notion they have that they know what is right and force it on people. Not just which hand to use, I see this all over. It's the same diseased thought process that leads to gender norms, heterosexual normativity, and a whole host of other "right" ways to live or act. It's stupid and people need to stop it.