Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by bjpbakker 3240 days ago
Not just in America I'm afraid. I live in The Netherlands, and see this hppening at large scale against any non-white people.

As a white male I feel that all I can do is to share this injustice all I can and hope others will become aware (which so far sadly seems not to really happen).
1 comments
the-dude 3240 days ago
Which city? As a white male myself I was apprehended this year for no particular reason at all ( Groningen ). Excuse for apprehension: I declinded to show my ID for no reason at all.
link
bjpbakker 3240 days ago
> Which city

Many times I've seen "public" ID checks in Amsterdam (especially those in subways) targeting just non-white people.

> Excuse for apprehension: I declinded to show my ID for no reason at all

Yep it becomes more and more a "comply or your guilty" culture. Not going well IMO.

If it's sometimes bad for white people, I only try to imagine how horrible it must be for people who are discriminated against (by public authorities) on a daily basis.

link
ensignavenger 3239 days ago
Does Amsterdam require citizens to carry ID with them all the time? When I am out around my home town but not driving myself (using public transit, walking, or rding with friends/family) I often don't carry my ID with me. (I am in the US). If asked to show my ID, I couldn't comply even if I wanted to. It seems strange to me to expect people to have their ID with them at all times.
link
logfromblammo 3239 days ago
Even US cops get stop-and-identify statutes wrong. They vary by state, but in states that have them, you are only required to identify yourself if you are the suspect of a crime, and stating your name and address is sufficient--a government-issued photo ID card is not required.

Fast forward to all those YouTube public-accountability activist taking photographs or video of the local cop shop from a public sidewalk, to be eventually arrested for failure to identify, or trespassing, or jaywalking, or loitering, or vagrancy, or resisting arrest.

Knowing who you are and where you live is necessary for the criminal justice system, but the same info may also be used to intimidate those who commit no crimes, but become inconvenient to those in power. Even the act of demanding identification may be intimidating.

As such, Netherlands citizens may wish to push back against the state's power to identify anyone at will, for no readily apparent reason. It's bad enough when the law is on your side and the cops overreach anyway; I can't imagine how bad it could be when the cops start to overreach and the law allows them to go even further.

link
the-dude 3239 days ago
The Netherlands has schizophrenic identity laws, a classic Dutch compromise ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polder_model ).

The schizo thing : you are not required to carry ID, but you are required to show it upon request.

The circumstances in which it can be lawfully requested are somewhat limited.

You can be fined for not complying, which I was because I refused to show it.

link