You know what comes next, right?
How about, "Give them an inch..." You know that one too. Everybody does.
Here's one, it's kind of a spoiler, "Don't be the chump."
That first one is, of course, "Fool me once..., ya can't get fooled again."
No, that's not it. It's "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me."
That other thing is some weird mash-up, that actually goes:
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me... ya can't get fooled again.
That was, of course, our former President, the penultimate W, the most incompetent man ever to serve the office since electricity. Some sort of collision between an old platitude and
The Who, a legendary British rock band, happened inside that pretzel-choked, peanut-shaped brain and out it came: comedy gold. Irresistible. But entirely not my point.
"Fool me once..."; as soon as you read it, you know what comes next. Most especially and particularly if you are of the left, the eternally betrayed, those who represent in their mind those who have yet to gain access to the privilege which is America, in all of our hearts. Doesn't matter if you're cynical about civil rights, civil liberties, or liberal social policies, you won't get fooled again. That is what cynical means, after all.
"Give them an inch," and they'll take a mile. Another automatic thought; you can't see the first half without knowing the second is inevitable, hearing it in your mind, recognizing its truth. No compromise. They're trying to destroy you, retaliation is necessary, only in subjugation will they respect you.
The last one is my favorite, of course, because it is mine. The first rule of rules. Any other rule is subordinate. The law of survival. Don't. Be. The. Chump.
I understand people understanding this. It rules their behavior. It is why they do what they do. It is why we do what we do. It is why you do what you do. In every way. You spend your life trying not to be the chump. Not having that mile stolen from you. Refusing to get fooled again.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
Have you ever been pleasantly surprised by life? In some little way. Your life sucks. You are alone. Your family can barely stand you. You have to beg for both money and dignity on a regular basis. But there is some tiny little thing, some bit of fortunate fortune, a cordial of synchronicity, a soothing serendipity, that makes you feel just enough fulfillment and satisfaction that you're willing to take a chance again and see if it works out? Instead of just making sure you don't end up being the chump, I mean.
No compromise is no progress. Same thing. Just two different words for the same thing, described from different perspectives (any two different perspectives) on the political spectrum, however you want to draw it. Progress is compromise. There are no slippery slopes; we have the intelligence we need to sort things out. You can fool some of the people all of the time. You can fool all of the people some of the time.
You know what comes next, right?
