A month ago, the president of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, Dineke de Groot, News hour. The Supreme Court, like other government agencies, receives thousands of letters from citizens who 'opt out'. And this is because they declared themselves 'autonomous' and therefore no longer wish to pay taxes, premiums, fines or sometimes even rent. They are supported (and misled) in this by advisors who fabricate legal arguments. These are often so bizarre that the Public Prosecution Service is preparing prosecution against a few for fraud and fraud.
These citizens are de facto victims – they deliberately incur problematic debts and collect rejections from government bodies as trophies of their own right. The Supreme Court now had nineteen moving boxes full. No one in The Hague really knows what to do with it. Are these citizens still capable of reason? Do they need help, guidance or correction? The arsenal of reminders, additional lifting, turning off or retracting appears to be pointless. Is this work for the local police officer, Veilig Thuis, the community nurse or GGZ? Citizens who suffer from dementia, become temporarily stressed or become mentally lost, can still be placed under administration or guardianship. Temporary or otherwise. But if thousands are organized knowable take a wandering route, what then?
Those nineteen boxes at the Supreme Court form the high tide of the citizen-government crisis. Elicited by the 'vaccination compulsion', curfew, mandatory face mask and the dormant surveillance state. Fueled by the misconduct in the Benefits Scandal, the withdrawal of the government, which enforces both harder and more anonymously. Cheered on by aversion to 'fraudsters' and profiteers in politics and the media. The AIVD warns that of “anti-institutional extremism” even aggression can be expected.
In a fairly full meeting room in the roof of the Speelklokmuseum in Utrecht, I was recently able to think about it quietly. There was a book presentation, a selection from the oeuvre of Alex Brenninkmeijer, the former national ombudsman. This 'amiable radical', who died almost two years ago, was in fact already a whistleblower in this crisis. Occasionally a dance organ interrupted somewhere down there, which also had something appropriate. Alex certainly played a part. How this man is missed.
Does confidence in the rule of law arrive on foot and leave on horseback, just like authority, as the tile wisdom would have it? From speaker Kees van den Bos, social psychologist of the rule of law, I learned that conspiracy thinking is mainly rooted in social fear and uncertainty, in combination with a lack of reliable information. And that conspiracy thinking too Tasty is – you suddenly understand everything, you belong somewhere where everyone agrees. A conspiracy as a lifebuoy in the chaos. It comforts, it provides relief, it connects and gives self-confidence.
Social identification with the group is the source of this, says Van den Bos. The means to regain trust is then “perceived procedural justice” with the government. Or “how authorities deal with you.” That also determines how the group views you. „Justice is where the individual meets the group”, Van den Bos quoted his American colleagues Tyler & Lind. They defined what citizens are entitled to in contact with the government. Fairness in procedures. Transparency in trading. The possibility of rebuttal. Impartiality in decisions.
As Van den Bos summarized: politeness, respect, competence, professionalism, honesty, genuine interest. Citizens want to feel that they matter, that they can 'be there'. Conspiracy theorists have lost that feeling. In the meantime, conspiracy groups can also weaken again. Internal contradiction then arises; not all facts appear to be reversed or explained away; doubt creeps in. Precisely then the door of the procedurally just government must be open – for misguided citizens who fill nineteen boxes with pointless mail, a didactic, empathetic approach would be more functional. Kill them with kindness, that's also called. Brenninkmeijer, champion of the 'citizen perspective' would agree, I imagine. Explain professionally, sincerely and patiently how it works. Remain neat, impartial, polite, honest, etc. Citizens ultimately have to escape conspiracies themselves, just like sects. Or else it will be moving to one uninhabited island.
Folkert Jensma is a legal editor and writes every other week on Mondays.
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