Why ACAB is retarded

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Why “ACAB” is Retarded (This mainly applies to the west, I make exception for the Israeli Occupation Forces who are bastards.)

In the past few months, I have been carefully observing the Occupy movement and various other Anti Capitalist/Left Wing movements, and some of the things I have observed, have, quite frankly, being fucking retarded.

Prime among those, is the “ACAB” (All Cops Are Bastards, not someone failing hard at alphabet...), “FTP” (Fuck The Police, not File Transfer Protocol as I first thought on instinct...) and other anti police slogans.

Seriously. Do you guys REALLY expect the cops to treat you with kid gloves when you are screaming obscenities at them? When you generalize and brand ALL cops with the same brush? Sure, some police officers may have (certainly have) violated your rights, been guilty of police brutality, used excessive force, and otherwise been bastards.

What you fail to realize, is that there are MANY other cops who have NOT done so. And by tarring them all with the same fucking brush, you simply antagonize them. I have watched countless hours of livestreams, and to be completely honest, I saw more incidences of police officers standing down than I did of them brutalizing protesters. And I saw a fair bit of protesters being treated with brutality. Yet, even in cases where the police stood down, or otherwise were being nice, the hashtags remained the same “FTP” and “ACAB” prime among them.

The police are just doing their job. If they get orders to clear out some protesters, they have no choice but to do so, or lose their job AND face criminal charges for disobedience. And to be completely honest, I see NO reason for a police officer to risk their job, and/or their freedom, for a bunch of people who treat them with the utmost contempt, either screaming obscenities at them or referring to them in a derogatory manner.

I myself have seen excessive force in person, at protests in 2010 I got a little too close for comfort to flailing batons and horses. I had to call ambulances for people who were hit repeatedly with ASP extendable batons or, in one case, kicked in the face by a horse. I cannot “unsee” the image of a young lady being carried past police lines with her face a mask of blood and shredded tissue, having recieved a hoof to the head. I have been raided and thousands of euros of my property damaged, destroyed or seized. Priceless data – irreplacable software and designs – gone forever. Yet I still have the utmost respect for the police. I have no contempt, no anger toward them.

Why?

Because without them, we would be completely and utterly fucked. Those same people you see screaming “FTP” or “ACAB” slogans are the EXACT SAME ONES who will go running to the boys in blue the second the SLIGHTEST thing happens to them. And they will have no gratitude when some officer maybe risks their life or health to help them out. Nope. They will continue screaming their retarded slogans, continue calling cops “pigs”.

This is not to say I love the police either. I have many criticisms of policing, and often think things can go too far. Surveillance powers granted to them are, in my opinion, fucking ridiculous. The use of informants and entrapment reprehensible. The fact these are permissable under the excuses of “pedophiles”, “terrorists”, “organized criminals” and “human trafficing” is a load of bollocks – once they are granted those powers in “special cases” it is not long before they are used against Joe Soap who forgot to pay his fucking household charge.

Excessive use of force and tactics/weapons used by riot police is another thing I take issue with – the ASP baton can easily kill if used wrongly, tear gas is potentially carcinogenic, and tazers are lethal in many cases. The “Less than lethal” grenades are more like “Less likely to kill you but hey – dead people cannot sue anyway” grenades, the water cannon and use of horses/dogs are scarily reminiscent of the equal rights protests in the 60's.

Oddly enough, if one investigates, one finds there are often reasons for these tactics. Most officers are taught to strike muscle masses with the ASP baton (for fear of breaking a victims bones), which is ineffective, requiring multiple strikes (bludgeoning) to take down a subject.

Tear gas has been shown to be a double edged sword – in the 1980's students made their own and retaliated.

Kettling is using the divide and conquer principle, which brings me to a rant about the militarization of police forces, which I am skipping because it is TL;DR nonsense.

All these things are the “Bad side” of policing, and they get a lot of coverage. But what about the good things the cops do? Like (try) prevent crime?

Now, it is well known the police cannot magically prevent crime, and that they only occasionally can track down that bastard who nicked your wallet in CP's, but.

Imagine a world without policing.

Anarchy. Crime everywhere. You would likely be shot or stabbed or beaten within mere minutes, as there would be no fear of legal ramifications, no reason to NOT be a criminal.

This, is the finest example of carrot/stick. Except there is no carrot really, just a big stick. If you fuck up and violate the law (usually by violating someone elses rights), you get a smack. If not, you are OK. Most of the time.

Anyways, to reiterate.

For an activist movement to take an anti-police stance, is likely one of the most idiotic things they can do.

Why?

1. Antagonizing them. Can you expect officers to treat you with kindness when you are calling them “pigs” and “bastards” all the fucking time? How would YOU feel if you were called a bastard by a police officer? Fit to sue I bet...
2. Division. Police officers are not some ruling elite, they are part of the working class of society, whether you fucking like it or not. They work shit hours, have to deal with scumbags and wankers all day, and get bugger all pay worth mentioning. Not to mention the risks they take. They are part of what you CLAIM to be fighting for, yet you shun them. Nice one, hypocrite.
3. Expectations. If you are known to the police as anti police, the day you need them, do not be fucking surprised if they are reluctant to help. They have other cases. Ones they may decide are more important than yours. Ones involving people who are NOT calling them bastard pigs all the fucking time.

Thank you, that is all.