A.C.A.B.

A.C.A.B. is an anti-police acronym standing for “All Cop[per]s Are Bastards”, used as a slogan in graffiti, tattoos, and other imagery.

The Dictionary of Catchphrases attests the acronym in graffiti as early as 1977 in an article by a Newcastle journalist who spent a night in jail and documented the term written on walls; the book reckons the acronym itself to be no older than the 1970s, though the full phrase to date back as far as the 1920s. The British Oi! punk band, the 4-Skins, popularized the acronym A.C.A.B. in their 1980s song of the same name.

On 7 January 2011, three Ajax football fans in the Netherlands were fined for wearing t-shirts with the numbers 1312 printed on them, that number standing for “ACAB” by assigning each number a numeric value (1=A, 2=B, 3=C). The 12th of December (12.13) joined the collective unconscious as ACAB Day. Source: Wikipedia.

ACAB – All Cops Are Bastards is a 2012 Italian drama film directed by Stefano Sollima. The film was the debut feature from director Stefano Sollima, who had previously directed TV crime show Romanzo Criminale, and focuses on the life of a group of riot control force policemen and their life coping with ‘cleansing’ stadiums from Ultras, public demonstrations, evictions and everyday family life.

Anywhere in the world, the police was not created to defend you or your rights. Unless you join the elite that controls the power and the money in your society. If you are not rich, famous or influential, be careful. There’s always a bastard near you.

All cops are bastards

Brazil recently been swept by a wave of protests against government corruption, neglect of rulers with essential services such as education, health, public transport and security, and the billionaires spending on hosting the World Cup 2014 and the visit of Pope Francis. The protests were violently repressed and stifled by police and criminalized by the fascist media that controls the information in the country.

Besides the violent police crackdown on demonstrators, cases such as the bricklayer’s assistant Amarildo de Souza, kidnapped and killed by military police officers of the UPP (Pacifying Police Unit) of the Rocinha slum in Rio de Janeiro, in July 2013, and the recent massacre of 12 people in Campinas, São Paulo, probably by police officers, add up to a growing and frightening statistic: the police of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are the biggest killers in the world.

But you think that police repression and dictatorship disguised as a democracy are a thing of Third World countries like Brazil? No. The winds of change that have begun blowing in the Arab countries remain strong in many countries worldwide, but the claim of the people for changes continues to be silenced by blows from batons, rubber bullets, pepper sprays and tear gas in Mexico, Greece, France, USA, India, Egypt, Turkey and now Ukraine, where thousands of people are on the streets of the capital Kiev at this time braving the cold and police violence to protest against the fascist president Viktor Yanukovych.

There is no democracy without freedom of expression. While the police continue to act as a private militia of corrupt and repressive rulers there will be no social peace. Do you trust the police in your city? I do not. All cops are bastards.

Não acabou. A.C.A.B.

Recentemente o Brasil foi varrido por uma onda de protestos contra a corrupção nos governos, o descaso dos governantes com serviços essenciais como educação, saúde, transporte público e segurança, além dos gastos bilionários com a realização da Copa do Mundo de 2014 e com a visita do Papa Francisco. Os protestos foram violentamente reprimidos e sufocados pela polícia e criminalizados pela mídia fascista que controla a informação no país.

Além da repressão policial violenta contra manifestantes, casos como o do ajudante de pedreiro Amarildo de Souza, seqüestrado e morto por policiais militares da UPP da Favela da Rocinha, no Rio de Janeiro, em julho de 2013, e a recente chacina de 12 pessoas em Campinas, São Paulo, provavelmente por policiais, somam-se à uma estatística crescente e assustadora: as polícias do Rio de Janeiro e de São Paulo são as que mais matam no mundo.

Mas você pensa que repressão policial e ditadura disfarçada de democracia são coisa de países do Terceiro Mundo como o Brasil? Não. Os ventos da mudança que começaram nos países árabes continuam soprando forte em vários países do mundo, mas o grito da população por mudanças continua sendo silenciado a golpes de cassetete, balas de borracha, sprays de pimenta e bombas de gás lacrimogêneo: México, Grécia, França, Estados Unidos, Índia, Egito, Turquia e neste momento Ucrânia, onde milhares de pessoas estão nas ruas da capital Kiev enfrentando o frio e a violência da polícia para protestar contra o presidente fascista Viktor Yanukovych.

Não existe democracia sem liberdade de expressão. Enquanto a policia continuar agindo como milícia de governos corruptos e repressores, não haverá paz social. Você confia na polícia da sua cidade? Eu não. Não acabou. A.C.A.B.