Whites need not apply

Dicrimination in hiring by the state

Unbelievable. There is another story of racial discrimination by the Dutch police in their appoinments policy. Before I blogged about the efforts by the Minister of Justice to increase the number of minorities working for the police, by hiring and promoting quota. These quota blocked all male applicants. There was some anger in the Dutch press at this blatant policy of discrimination. In addition several minority appointees turned out to be incompetents. And it seemed the policy had gone out of the window.

Job reservation for women and minorities

Well, it is back again. Last weekend the police placed an recruitment ad (Dutch) to hire an administrative division head for the police organisations of Frisia, Groningen and Drenthe. The ad bluntly states that

this position is reserved exclusive for women and non-dutch candidates.

Article 1 and Article 3

Discrimination does not get any more blatant than this. This goes directly against article 1 and article 3 of the Dutch constitution. According to the commission who has written the text of the ad, the text has been approved even by the Minister of Justice, Mr. Ernst Ballin. For the record, the Christian Democrat Hirsh Ballin replace Labour Minister of Justice Guusje ter Horst, after Labour left the government coalition a few months ago. Article 1 of the constitution says that all cases will be treated equally in The Netherlands. Article 3 states that all appoinments for public office must give all applicants equal consideration.

Discrimination in the private sector

Another case, a large grocery chain, "AH-to-Go", hires a lot of non-dutch staff to work in filling the shop racks. Many of these are Moroccans and this population gropu is notorious for their violence. At some point e-mails surfaced of AH-to-Go Managers asking job agencies supplying them with workers to put a cap on the number of ethnic Moroccans. A few days ago the Public Prosecutor announced that the three managers who wrote the offending e-mails will be prosecuted for discrimination and trespassing against article 1. of the Constitution.

In previous cases entrepreneurs and managers of private firms have been fined for similar policies.

Do as I say, not as I do

Obviously politicians and the servants of the Dutch state think that they set the laws for the citizenry but that the laws do not apply to them. So they are allowed to do what citizens are explicitly forbidden. The state is far more powerful than individual citizens and private firms. This tyrannical application of power causes distrust and resentment amongst the population at large.

Some animals are more equal than others

Still cases like thise attrackt an increasing amount of attention. There is a connection which is overlooked. Freedom Party (PVV) Geert Wilders is prosecuted for hate speech and discrimination under the same laws as those which are being used against the AH-to-Go managers for making statements which are critical against Islam. It would be a major injustice if he would be convicted for thought crime, while the states pursues a policy of discrimination. It could well happen. Judges are formalistic. Their definition of discrimination is that which the laws and statues define as illegal discrimination. But even if Mr. Wilders is convicted it will not stop him or the PVV, but the injustice will rather be more wind in their sails.