A.C.A.B.

For other uses, see ACAB (disambiguation).

A.C.A.B. graffiti in Moritzplatz underground station, Berlin, Germany

ACAB graffiti in Barriera di Milano, Turin, Italy

A.C.A.B. is an anti-police acronym standing for "All Cop[per]s Are Bastards",^[1] used as a slogan in graffiti, tattoos, and other imagery.

History

The Dictionary of Catchphrases states that the acronym was seen in 1977 by a Newcastle journalist written on the walls of a prison cell and estimates the acronym to be no older than the 1970s, though the full phrase may date back as far as the 1920s.^[2] The British Oi! punk band, the 4-Skins, popularized the acronym A.C.A.B. in their 1980s song of the same name.^[3]

Usage

The acronym is often integrated into prison tattoos in the United Kingdom, commonly rendered as one letter per finger, alternatively sometimes seen as symbolic small dots across each knuckle.^[4] Skinheads and hooligans often use "ACAB" as "All Cops Are Bastards". Additionally, the anarchist movement also uses ACAB as a political slogan, most notably by antifa groups.

The use of the acronym is widespread and pervasive within Ultras football fan culture.

The use of the acronym has also been used by law enforcement personnel as a counter-acronym: Always Carry A Badge or Always Carry A Bible.

Punishment

Brian Stableford's 2009 Exotic Encounters states that "many years ago" during a fad for wearing ACAB shirts, a British youth was arrested for incitement to riot for wearing one, and ineffectively claimed the shirt stood for "All Canadians Are Bastards".^[5]
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"^[1] by assigning each letter a numeric value (1=A, 2=B, 3=C).

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 , Dutch News - Football fans fined for anti-police t-shirt.
↑ Eric Partridge (4 December 1986). A Dictionary of Catch Phrases. Taylor & Francis. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-0-415-05916-9. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
↑ Gordon Woodman (29 May 2009). The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 57/2008. LIT Verlag Münster. pp. 53–. ISBN 978-3-643-10157-0. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
↑ Tim Thompson; Sue Black (14 November 2006). Forensic Human Identification: An Introduction. Taylor & Francis. pp. 384–. ISBN 978-0-8493-3954-7. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
↑ Brian Stableford (November 2009). Exotic Encounters: Selected Reviews. Wildside Press LLC. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-1-4344-5760-8. Retrieved 18 October 2012.

External links

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