That display of supportive but needling graffiti is a good reflection of where ACAB stands in the protest movement today. The primary vehicle was, of course, righteous and angry two-minute bursts of song: the most famous example is the song “ACAB” by the London band the 4-Skins, but there are plenty more. The punk movement carried ACAB around the globe, where it became a watchword for anarchist and anti-authoritarian movements from New York to Indonesia. This was a turning point for the alarmism the phrase still inspires today-but the panic had the unintentional effect of launching ACAB into the vernacular of the burgeoning punk movement.Īnd in punk music, ACAB found its spiritual home. The kid claimed he thought ACAB stood for “All Canadians are Bums” and got off with a 5 GBP fine, but the headline made the acronym a byword for a younger generation But sick of getting pushed around by cops. The accompanying story explained that the police had picked up a teen who had embroidered the phrase on his jacket after copying it from a Hells Angel he saw on the street. But ACAB really took on its modern meaning in 1970 when the Daily Mirror ran the phrase as a headline. James Poulter at Vice unearthed some video footage from 1958 of some lads belting the phrase on the street. Aprocrophyally, “All Coppers are Bastards” was first abbreviated to ACAB by workers on strike in the 1940s. The exact origins of the term are unknown, but the consensus is that it emerged in England in the first half of the twentieth century. It’s showing up on municipal buildings If you don’t know already, it means “All Cops are Bastards.” (You may also see its numeric alternate, “1312,” with numbers substituted for letters.) It’s a term with a rich, controversial history-and one that can tell us about protest, police, and the power dynamic between a state and its citizens. Your kids are making videos about it, your parents are asking you what it is. The acronym ACAB has been rolling through the US protest movement, from graffiti to signs to streetwear. Your kids are making videos about it and your parents want to know what it means. It’s outside the Utah State Capitol and on Churchill statue in London.
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