The plural of "ignorance" is not "truth".
The law here in the Netherlands, explicitly mentioning "Schengen" when introduced, is that everyone from 14 on up is required to always carry some form of government identification, and to produce it when requested by duly appointed authorities. Failure to do so brings a 50 euro fine and more likely than not arrest to "determine identity". In fact, the first thing the plod is likely to ask when they deign to talk to you, even to tell you not to spit on the street or something, is to ask you "for your identity".
There are almost daily mentionings in the press that someone failed to produce ID and had another fifty euros slapped on the stack of fines they were about to issue, for nowadays road controls and such are increasingly no longer just the police, but done in concert with the customs and revenue services so as to scrub you squeaky clean. That, also, is regularly reported in the press, with totals cashed, often literally paid-on-the-spot.
This is also the law in France, where in certain banlieues youf of usually Algerian descent get asked for their ID card by grumpy French plod on just about every street corner. Yes, some people get asked for it more often than others. The law is the same for everyone, however, regardless of application.
In the UK, last time I checked, you could go home and show your ID the next day at the police station. In the rest of Europe, count on being detained first.
This doesn't even begin to touch on the increasing pressure to "prove your identity" at the drop of a hat, even when no credit will be issued or liability transferred. But "Schengen" has been used to introduce these laws, including explicitly so. Your ignorance does not change that fact.
Underweight passport pic left traveller stuck in Amsterdam
