[TW: POLICE BRUTALITY (obviously)]
From my own experience, the experience of my comrades and keeping up with the experiences of activist groups and people of color in their own words:
Yes, it absolutely applies to the Netherlands.
Dutch cops are incredibly racist and it is systematic. Here is a big bunch of resources.
They kill unarmed people of color and people with mental illnesses and
face no consequences. People like:
- Mitch Henriquez
- Rishi Chandrikasing
- Ihsan Gurz
- Mitchel Winters
- Jerry Landveld
- Rupert Lodovica
- Wensley Udenhout
- Barry Kouwenberg
- Mike Stok
- Paul Selier
The list goes on and on and we only know of the cases that make the news because the Dutch police refuses to keep records of how many people die as a result of police violence and in police custody.
Dutch police also deliberated escalate protests and are incredibly violent towards
activists, especially when those activists are people of color, women, queer or a combination of those things. They lie, threaten and intimidate people to get confessions.The Dutch police has specific units designed to ‘seem progressive’ like LGBT network ‘Pink in Blue’ and they put forward minority-identity cops as spokespeople to seem nicer. As a queer activist I can tell you from person experience that Pink in Blue cops are just as violent as the rest of them.
It is understandable that you don’t know all these names and stories. The Dutch media ignore a lot of this issue and very few activist groups are repeating these names and telling these stories and a lot is being done to suppress those that are. But the stories are out there and you can inform yourself. Here that big bunch of resources again. &
Here’s another bunch of resources and here is detailed information about racism, politce brutality and repression in the Schilderwijks Den Haag, the most documented case I know.
(Activists in the US and elsewhere: reblog this shit, or copy-paste it, or make your own post. The idea that police brutality is an ‘American problem’ is really harmful to us. Have some solidarity and break that narrative.)
I’m the person who sent that ask, just on my 2nd blog now. Before I start my reply, I have to make something clear so Tumblr doesn’t rip me apart for being a racist. I’m not disagreeing with you, nor am I agreeing with you. I’m still forming an opinion, and an essential part of that is doubting. That’s what I’m doing here. I’m not arguing against, I’m doubting.
Ok, let’s go.
Having looked at the articles and resources you linked, yeah, police brutality is a problem. I agree with you so far.
But what I wonder about specifically is ACAB: all cops are bastards. The group “cops”, though a group, is comprised out of many individual people. I find it difficult to believe all individual people in that group are bastards.
A good example is, which I just pulled from one of your resources, the Blue Manifest. It is a manifesto by BlueM (consisting of 1000 young cops), pleading for the abolition of ethnic profiling, with 10 points of attention on how to abolish it. Although BlueM seems kind of dead now, (I can’t find much on the Internet about them anymore) the existence of the manifesto is somewhat hopeful. As I said before, “cops” is a group comprised of individuals. If the individuals that comprise the group are changing for the better (example: BlueM), then the group “cops” will change for the better.
In other words, it seems to me as if there’s still hope for reformation within the police, and make it a good thing. That reformation can come with good cops, who are, for example, against ethnic profiling.
A phrase like ACAB indicates there is no hope for the police. It is so rotten on the inside that anyone who’d associate with it can only be a rotten person. But when you considering that Blue Manifest, it seems like the police in the Netherlands is not that rotten yet.
Do you think there is still hope for reformation within the police to make it a good thing, or is it already rotten through and through?
When I received your question I was happy to provide sources. Wanting to know more is a good thing.
I have to admit I find it a little strange that you ask for sources, receive many and then immediately start giving your opinions about it within a few hours after receiving those sources.
Your disclaimer doesn’t do much if what you’re doing is still stating an opinion.Maybe it’s smarter to take a little more time to really inform yourself about this topic more?
I have no confidence that the Dutch police, or indeed any police force ever, can be reformed. Not by ‘good cops’, not by outside pressure. Groups like ControleAltDelete that seek to reform the police do some very good work by drawing attention to police brutality and limiting the space that cops have to be violent without criticism or consequences, but ultimately their idea that the police can be reformed is misguided.
‘Good cops’ still evict people for the crime of being poor. ‘Good cops’ still deport refugees to unsafe places. ‘Good cops’ still break up protests when they are ordered to. ‘Good cops’ still protect murderers when their boss tells them to keep quiet. ‘Good cops’ still maintain all the unjustices of the system.
The police exist to protect property and the powerful and to enact the will of the state. As long as we are ruled by the rich and racist (and we are), the police will continue to do their bidding. As long as the police exist, those who like having power over others, particularily racists and sexists, will be drawn to it and they will protect each other against accusations of police brutality. As long as police exist,
cops will continue to get away with beating up activists, murdering people of color and lying about it in their reports.We all want to believe that things can get better, so it is tempting to get drawn in by what appear to be signs or progress like Pink in Blue or the Blue Manifesto, but we have to recognize these projects for what they are: attempt to put a little pink ribbon on an institution that exists to use violence against people in the name of the powerful. Every single cop is an accomplice in that violence.
The sources you provide are mostly descriptive, or are critical of police as they are now, not of police inherently. I wanted to hear something evaluative on police inherently, so when I dive deeper into the resources you provided, using those resources I can try to evaluate whether your analysis of the police is right. I read articles like that differently when I have a theory like yours to place it in. That’s mostly why I responded that quickly. I hope that kind of makes sense.
So, thanks. I’m not yet sure whether I agree with you, but that’s why I’ll look into the topic more, as I said above. ^^ Thank you so much for taking the time to help me!
You want theory on the police inherently? Do a little search on police abolition:
– https://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/topic/police-brutality
– https://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/topic/policing
– http://sabokitty.tumblr.com/post/117693835498/bibliography-of-police-abolition-writings
Yeah, some of it is written in a US-centric way. But the Dutch police is NOT inherently different.
QueerAnarchism 