How To Open System Directories In Finder Without Opening A New Finder Tab In the finder I made hidden directories visible. The odd thing is that any system directory (IE one whose name starts with a ".") I can't open them by double-clicking on them. Instead I have to right click and and select to open in a new tab. Is there a way to change this behavior?

I'm using Mavericks, not sure if this issue is specific to Mavericks or not.
You can enter those directories from keyboard with ⌘ CMD+↓ Down arrow.
 Or ⇧ SHIFT+⌘ CMD+G and type the name of the directory You want to enter. You can complete directory name with ⇥ TAB button (for example type Down in $USER dir, press ⇥ TAB and it will become Downloads).