Hey! I was wondering about something. If I understand it correctly, you’re Dutch, right? (Or at least, I’ve seen you post about Dutch politics I think…) I was wondering what you think of ACAB in the Netherlands. I feel like the police is a much more problematic institution in America; in the Netherlands however, I feel that the police does more good than bad (though, I’m becoming more skeptical after seeing how they handled the Zwarte Piet demonstrations). What do you think of it?

[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.)