Not only would left-handed people have been encouraged not to be

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JACEK1

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Hello everybody!

Not only would left-handed people have been encouraged not to be during this period, life was also pretty difficult for them and they quickly became very conspicuous.

I wonder what the highlighted fragment might mean.

Does it mean "Not only would left-handed people have been encouraged not to be alive" or "Not only would left-handed people have been encouraged not to be present (in social life because of difficulty in doing things that right-handers were supposed and expected to do" or "Not only would left-handed people have been encouraged not to exist"?

Thank you.

The source: BBC News - Do left-handed people really die young?
 

bhaisahab

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Hello everybody!

Not only would left-handed people have been encouraged not to be during this period, life was also pretty difficult for them and they quickly became very conspicuous.

I wonder what the highlighted fragment might mean.

Does it mean "Not only would left-handed people have been encouraged not to be alive" or "Not only would left-handed people have been encouraged not to be present (in social life because of difficulty in doing things that right-handers were supposed and expected to do" or "Not only would left-handed people have been encouraged not to exist"?

Thank you.

The source: BBC News - Do left-handed people really die young?

"Not only would left-handed people have been encouraged not to be left-handed during this period..."
 

Barb_D

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In other words, they had to use their right hand as their dominant hand and pretend not to be left-handed.
 

emsr2d2

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Right up until the 1970s in the UK, many children who showed signs at an early age of being left-handed were frequently forced to try to be right-handed. I don't think it was anything sinister, it was just that being left-handed was seen as being rather awkward - in those days there were no left-handed scissors or other tools, writing is harder because the ink tends to smudge as the left hand is dragged along the page over the already written words. My cousin who was born in 1976 is left-handed and I remember his mother tying his left hand behind his back when he was learning to write or when he was eating dinner so that he was forced to use his right hand. Fortunately, after a few months, she realised it was a) pointless and b) unfair, so she stopped doing it and left him alone!
 
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Barb_D

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Did you choose the word "sinister" for this discussion about being left-handed on purpose? Well done!
 

emsr2d2

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Did you choose the word "sinister" for this discussion about being left-handed on purpose? Well done!

Nice of you to spot it! ;-)
 
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