>A common fear of ID cards is that, once everyone is supposed to own one, some government comes along and decrees that you must carry one at all times. Then the police are given powers to arrest anyone not carrying ID; and finally, to stop and search anyone on the suspicion that they are not carrying ID.
And can you point towards a European country that isn't in the grip of a totalitarian state where this currently happens?
It's typical British exceptionalism, like unarmed police and Brexit. We'll massively inconvenience ourselves out of principle, while sensible populations look on in bemusement.
>Also: the novel 1981 was written about a future UK.
I'll assume that you mean 1984, which is fiction. Orwell, after all, was English and you would expect him to write political allegories based here.
> It's typical British exceptionalism, like unarmed police and Brexit.
Odd thing to get worked up about. Not sure why you link brining guns into a potential heated situation is gonna make it any better. Most police offers don’t even want to carry a gun, I certainly don’t want police officers carrying a gun.
That got nothing to do with exceptionalism, I just think a police officers primary responsibility is to their community. We should rate them based on their ability to prevent crime through community relationships and diplomacy, not on their ability to rapidly deliver lethal amounts of lead into a situation.
We should stand up for our principles, and try and build a society to thats a fair and equal as possible, regardless of an individual quirks and differences. We shouldn’t be aiming to create a uniform society just because it economically more efficient, and removes the need for the majority to think about the needs of the minority.
Yes, of course, 1984! He was expressing his fears about the future of the UK, because he was British (and of course, because he was projecting a future, it was fiction). You are quite right.
> And can you point towards a European country that isn't in the grip of a totalitarian state where this currently happens?
No, but there are several European countries that are essentially totalitarian at the moment; and there are several European countries that are not currently totalitarian, that have required people to carry ID on pain of arrest during my memory. It's a reasonable fear.
And can you point towards a European country that isn't in the grip of a totalitarian state where this currently happens?
It's typical British exceptionalism, like unarmed police and Brexit. We'll massively inconvenience ourselves out of principle, while sensible populations look on in bemusement.
>Also: the novel 1981 was written about a future UK.
I'll assume that you mean 1984, which is fiction. Orwell, after all, was English and you would expect him to write political allegories based here.