title: Check if string contains one value or another, syntax error?
body: <p>I'm coming from a javascript backend to Python and I'm running into a basic but confusing problem</p>
  
  <p>I have a string that can contain a value of either 'left', 'center', or 'right'. I'm trying to test if the variable contains either 'left' or 'right'.</p>
  
  <p>In js its easy:</p>
  
  <pre><code>if( str === 'left' || str === 'right' ){}
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>However, in python I get a syntax error with this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>if str == 'left' || str == 'right':
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Why doesn't this work, and what's the right syntax?</p>