The Rules- Nothing New

The Rules of Supremacy

1. We make the rules. 

2. We can change the rules to suit us whenever we want to.

3. We are the only ones who are allowed to be angry about the rules (or angry about anything).

4. We will not tell you the rules. 

5. We expect you to play by the rules. 

6. Everyone has to play by the rules except us. 

7. If you don't play by the rules, you will be punished (ridiculed, bullied, ostracized, attacked, beaten, banished, murdered, fired, or soup du jour), but if we don't want to play by the rules, we will fix them so we can be comfortable.

8. No matter how loud or forceful you are in complaining about the rules or trying to change them, we don't see or hear you. It's not that we don't have vision, it's that we don't see you.  It's not that we can't hear noise, it's that we can't hear you. We can't hear or see below or behind us, either. We don't have to, because those are the rules. 

9. No matter how strong, well-researched, logical or practical your arguments are, we can't change things. Things have always been that way and that's how it should always be. And if you push back even a little bit, we will pull out all the stops to fight you to the death to keep things the same. 

10. Yada yada

What triggered me to write this today? Some big bonehead older white man in the grocery store, completely oblivious to the impact he was having on all the shoppers in a tight, crowded space. He wouldn't pick a damn lane. I was back there squashed in like sardines with a couple of other women my age and we all observed this man's behavior. A younger man who was directly behind him in line tactfully approached him to ask him to move. No luck. From his body language with the younger man, I can only imagine if one of us had suggested it to him. He certainly knew the rules. 

People appear to have forgotten social distancing and mask wearing, from what I can tell. There is still a pandemic going on, and the local hospital is full with ICU patients doubled up, and a shortage of nurses and other staff.  But it makes it everything worse when some belligerent, arrogant asshole makes the rules. 

And there are so many more rules but I'm too tired of doing lifelong workarounds to list them all...feel free to add more in the comments. 

Back to my cave...