Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Your papers, please


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. (non-admin closure)  Anarchyte  ( work  &#124;  talk )   11:14, 12 December 2016 (UTC)

Your papers, please

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The article states '"Your papers, please" is an expression or trope ' but I have trouble finding sources which discuss this in detail. Yes, it is an expression that is used every now and then, but I couldn't find a source that would define it, not to mention discuss in depth. The sources cited use it in titles, usually, but just as an expression. They never seem to explain the cultural significance of this phrase. Then there is also the title - some sources just use "Papers, please", some commit the comma. I tried to find something in books or scholarly papers, but I couldn't find much. I added two books, but again, neither is an in-depth treatment, one has a title entitled Papers, please, and uses this phrase two or three times, but I don't think it is sufficient to make support a claim from the lead. Ditto for which I didn't even bother adding. I am afraid this article is too much of a WP:OR, and has issues with WP:GNG. Thoughts? Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 08:50, 28 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Keep - "Papers, please" ("your" is optional) is a well-known expression and trope, at least in the United States, mocking Nazi Germany and communist countries, since people needed identity papers and weren't free to move around. It's frequently in movies and is identified as such in this book - as a "stock line" used in movies about Nazis. The video game Papers, Please came from this. The Arizona SB 1070 requiring people to carry identification was nicknamed the "Papers, Please" law. There are so many hits for it, it's difficult to find one talking only about the phrase itself, but I am sure sources exist somewhere. —Мандичка YO 😜 11:38, 28 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Many reliable sources are noted in the article and most of them use the phrase exactly as it is described in the article and discuss issues related to government functionaries demanding identification from citizens. This is from the second source cited: "These lawsuits and others are winding their way through the courts and the Supreme Court will likely have the final say. These laws have already sparked a widespread cultural protest. Some have already controversially compared them to Nazi Germany, where Jews were required to carry papers. However overstated or inappropriate the comparison, and whatever the outcome of the legal challenges, passing a law that requires people to show their papers on demand does not seem to sit right with American culture. To understand the source of our cultural discomfort, all we need to do is watch Casablanca." This is from the seventh source cited: "The ACLU urged the Justices to not only strike down the Nevada law, but also to uphold the limitations on police stops imposed by the Court in Terry. "The alleged benefits of a requirement that a person subject to a Terry stop identify himself...is substantially outweighed by the individual's countervailing interest in privacy and security," the ACLU said in its brief." Ghostofnemo (talk) 12:16, 28 November 2016 (UTC)
 * This quote from the second source cited explains the origins of the phrase: "Within the context of unrestrained police powers, "your papers, please" is wielded like a weapon. It serves its purpose well in Casablanca, one of the first World War II war propaganda films produced by Hollywood in cooperation with the US Office of War Information's Bureau of Motion Pictures. As a symbol of corrupt, unchecked unilateral power, the phrase embodies something worth fighting against. After Casablanca, many World War II films began incorporating "your papers, please" as a film trope. The phrase evolved into an enduring cultural metaphor that concisely and viscerally conveys what we are not about here in America. This message still resonates today." Ghostofnemo (talk) 12:37, 28 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I was sure it was discussed somewhere. Why I recommended keep. —Мандичка YO 😜 15:06, 28 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Thanks, but I am still concerned we are building an ORish arguments from reading between lines here. I don't think we see any source discussing this phrase in more than a single sentence at most. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 03:31, 5 December 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Language-related deletion discussions. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 15:23, 28 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Popular culture-related deletion discussions. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 15:23, 28 November 2016 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, North America1000 02:10, 5 December 2016 (UTC)
 * Keep In the absence of context this appears to be just a random phrase more suited for Wikitionary, but its now well-established use in political contexts as part of U.S. freedom of movement and immigration debates rises to the level of a standalone article. Eggishorn (talk) (contrib) 19:21, 5 December 2016 (UTC)
 * Keep, notable. Everyking (talk) 04:51, 6 December 2016 (UTC)
 * Per WP:ITSNOTABLE, please be bothered to make an argument. This is not a vote. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 07:01, 6 December 2016 (UTC)
 * I agree with the other keep voters. I don't have an argument of my own to make. Everyking (talk) 00:54, 7 December 2016 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.