ACAB

ACAB.jpg

 

This is an acronym formed from All Cops Are Bastards, a slogan which emerged early in the 20th century from groups resisting governments and government authority.  It has become more widespread in 2020, particularly after the George Floyd episode in the United States which supercharged the Black Lives Matter movement, because it implies that all cops are bastards not as individuals (although that may also be true), but because the system in place leads them down paths of racism and abuse of power.  When they are caught in such abuses, there is no retribution. The system attempts to ignore and move on.  Because of a punitive reaction to ACAB in some American states, the acronym can also appear in coded form as 1312. In Australia the acronym was reinvented as Aussie cops are bastards.

Sue ButlerComment