If you were asked to submit an article for (just a guess, sorry if it's unknown):
http://www.vub.ac.be/EWGLA/homepage.htmand then were asked by one of your peers to show your credentials before they would trust your article, wouldn't you be a little offended?
Actually, in academia, they don't even trust your credentials! No matter how many degrees you have, no matter what work you've done in the field before, a good journal is going to send your paper out for other experts to go over it with a fine toothed comb.
Don't established, respected groups deserve the benefit of the doubt sometimes?
In the words of Ronald Regan, "Doveriai, no proveriai." ("Trust, but verify").