Today I took public transportation in Amsterdam. I used the tramway, which is a quick and cheap way to get around the city. You pay for your ticket with a so-called [OE]strippenkaart[base '], a ticket that you have to stamp yourself when you use the tram or bus. Normally nobody checks whether your paid or not, so many people don[base ']t care to stamp it. Today in the Van Baerlestraat a team of security guys (plain-clothes police men) entered the tram and checked everybodies ticket. Almost half of the people did not have a valid ticket and had to pay a standard fine of EUR 29,40 (normal ticket price EUR 1[^]2, depending on the distance you travel).
Two North-African looking guys sitting next to me also were checked. First they showed old tickets that were invalid to travel, then they had a newer one that was not stamped. They said they forgot to stamp it, but of course the security person did not believe that. So they had to pay a fine. The guys got pretty arrogant, I was surprised to see how they looked down upon the security guy and were able to insult him without him getting angry. First they told him that he probably checks them because they are Moroccans. The guy did not react. Then they wanted to leave the tram, but were told they first had to pay the fine. As they did not have cash money they had to wait for another person with a small ATM that you could use to pay. Because many people had to pay, these guys had to wait a bit. They then said that they had something better to do then to wait for the machine, but now the security person told them that it was their own fault. Had they bought a ticket, they could have left. They disagreed, it was his fault, because he was checking them. He did not react. The guys kept on nagging him, but he ignored them, only preventing them from leaving. Finally the ATM guy came, they both paid their fines (after missing their correct pin codes twice) and then left the tram while shouting insults. The police guy just smiled.
This scene could have never happened in China, at least there kids still respect the police. Of course high punishments also help a bit. I don[base ']t want to know what would happen if you would insult Chinese security people in this way!
10:44:53 AM 
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