RE: Your papers, please . . .

[Baardwijk, J. van DTO/SLBD/BGM/SVM/SGM]

> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
> Van: Jim Sharkey [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Verzonden: Geen
> Aan: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Onderwerp: RE: Your papers, please . . .

> Joshua, unless the U.S. is, indeed, looking to become a place wherein
> you are randomly stopped and must present your ID to authorities, *how*
> is it helping to acknowledge who is supposed to be in that country? 

We had a similar situation in The Netherlands a few years ago, when the
government made it mandatory for everyone to carry some form of ID. There
were some protests then, because some people argued just like you that it
would lead to random checks, in an effort from the authorities to hunt down
people who are not allowed to be here.

Their fear turned out to be unfounded. In The Netherlands, you still do not
get randomly stopped and asked to identify yourself. If you *are* asked for
it out on the street, it is either because you were stopped when the police
perform on of their traffic checks (and then you are not randomly stopped --
everybody is stopped), or when you are showing suspicious behaviour.

Then again, the Dutch do not distrust their elected government as much as
Americans seem to distrust *their* elected government.


> Jeroen, between driver's licenses, credit cards, business ID's, and the
> multidinous *other* forms of identification people already have, an ID
> card would just be redundant.  So your bit about having an ID card "so
> your family can be warned" is BS.

If you already have ID cards, then why are you so afraid of getting another
one? Are you afraid it contains everything there is to know about you, and
everybody would be able to read it?

<mild sarcasm>
Oh no, wait, those new cards contain some GPS hardware, so the government
can keep tabs on where you go!
</mild sarcasm>

BTW, you could have just pointed out that you already have other forms of
identification, without calling my argument "BS".


> Another ID card only adds to the bureaucracy that's already here; I
> doubt that all the other forms of ID that people carry will suddenly go
> away.

It might (at least to some extent), depending on the features of that new ID
card. For instance, I carry with me a passport, a driver's license, a credit
card, a debit card, membership cards and telephone cards. Personally, I
would *love* to trade them all in for just one card I can use as ID and
driver's license and credit card and debit card and membership card for the
book club and use it to pay for public transport and use it in a public
phone booth and <etcetera>.

When set up properly, anyone accessing the information stored on the card
will only see that part of the data they are allowed to see.


> And that, too, will cause grumbling.

First you people complain when you have to start carrying ID cards, then you
complain when you no longer have to carry them. Could you people make up
your minds about what you want?   :)


Jeroen

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