Post #2477831

2026-04-16 18:41 UTC

There are still some people living who faced significant discrimination for being left-handed, but thanks to a major social shift, it's extremely rare for lefty kids to face the systemic abuse of generations past. Virtually nobody would describe left handed people as 'sinister'. We have _not_ forgotten these ideas, but we have quit applying them. However, systemic bias against left-handed people is not actually a solved problem. Tools continue to be designed for right handed people and lefties who try to use them can end up grievously injured as a result. Again, forgetting bigotry is not the solution to this.

Replies (1)

@celesteh@post.lurk.org 2026-04-22 10:14

Another problem with 'forgetting racism' is that there are white people who are highly motivated to pass on the knowledge of bigotry. To 'forget' would imply ignoring them, which cedes to them all discourse and narrative as to why the maintenance of systemic bias is, to them, good. The problem is thus not just of whether we should retain memories, but who controls them. Who should transmit them, the victims or the perpetrators? In 1977, a Nazi bookstore opened in San Francisco, named for Rudolf Hess, prominent Nazi who was still alive at the time. It was across from a synagogue. The store was very rightly attacked. The synagogue had its windows broken. The eventual result is that the bookstore is gone, the synagogue still stands and Holocaust survivors took control of the memory. They established a Holocaust Centre to do education. Public Holocaust education was happening from the moment that bookstore opened,but the victims did not get control of transmission until the following year. This act of public remberance of trauma also was a catalyst for offering survivors support and help. https://jweekly.com/2026/04/14/how-a-nazi-bookstore-led-to-s-f-s-yom-hashoah-observance-and-the-courage-to-act/

Open ##2477832