Idahoans and Archie Bunker Share a View on Californians

When I came across a video from the popular 1970s sitcom, I thought about some of my neighbors.  No matter what state you visit, you’ll find some places set people off more than others.  Michigan doesn’t like Ohio, and vice versa.  It stems from a war over a long-ago border dispute and has carried over into college football.

I worked for seven years in Delaware.  A popular bumper sticker read LAPD.  It stood for Locals Against Pennsylvania Drivers.  My daughter took several home to New York, where there’s a similar sentiment.

California transplants to Idaho have often been told by new neighbors to swap out the old license plate as quickly as possible.  Why?  Your car is less likely to be keyed at a grocery store.  While I’ve never witnessed it, I’m told it’s happened.

The strange thing is, people seem to like the Californians who’ve moved in next door.  Well, they’re different is a common refrain.  Then why the stereotype that the newcomers are commies and chew granola and grow their weed?

Look, when you read that legislators and Governor Hair Gel are mandating electric cars, you know that will mean you eventually have no other choice.  Because the automobile market is so much larger there, manufacturers will soon build nothing else.  Simple economics.  It’s how Walmart dictates packaging to suppliers.  Do you want shelf space at the largest retailer?  You follow the rules.

It’s one thing to dodge piles of poop on the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco.  We aren’t forced to mimic the sanitation of the Dark Ages, but we will pay the price on the environmental regulations.

Why do so many Californians get blamed for the sins of the kooks?  Because the same loonies overwhelmingly keep selecting the same leaders.  So everyone gets tarred with the same brush.  And there sure are a lot of whackos on the Left Coast.