Do what I say, but not how I benefited

I saw a story about a guy in Nevada who won a court case about his license plate. His plate essentially gave the message for people from California to go back there.

I’ve seen yard signs that essentially give the message that if you come to this location, don’t try to change it, the people here like it the way it is.

I have heard people make statements to others to go back to where they came from.

People are interesting. In all of these examples, there is a large amount of irony. It’s probably a pretty good guess that the guy in Nevada doesn’t have a long family history in the state — go back a generation or two, maybe even three or four generations, and I’m willing to bet that someone in his family moved to Nevada from somewhere else.

The people who post yard signs inviting others to not change things when they come seem to forget that when their families came to that location, things changed from the way it was. I’m willing to bet the people who were there before didn’t like the changes.

And the people who tell others to go back from where they came completely ignore their own family history.

Oh the irony of do as I say and not as I have benefited.

But hey, why should we assume that the rules we cast down on others should also apply to ourselves. Right? That would mean we’d be equals. And lord knows too many people have a deep need to feel superior over others.