In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder (and throughout the millions of protests over the years about police brutality, specifically in BIPOC communities), people have been protesting relentlessly. In Minneapolis, where I live, people are setting fire to buildings. They are looting stores, screaming for justice, gathering in crowds in the streets amidst a pandemic to speak out against the horrors of the American police system. They are holding up signs that say “ACAB” — an acronym for “All Cops Are Bastards.” And while there are many parts of the Minneapolis community and the nation that support their efforts, there is still unrest. There is an overwhelming amount of white voices spouting “Blue Lives Matter” and “Not All Cops” defenses.
“Hey, not all cops are bad!”
“My grandpa was a cop, and he’d never do anything like that.”
“It’s not okay what happened, but that cop was just a bad apple.”
There are countless things wrong with these statements. And if you are one of the people that stands behind rhetoric like this, please take a moment to understand the reasoning behind ACAB. Please take a moment to assess your privilege and to examine the perspective of BIPOC communities in this fight for justice, and the fight to end police violence. Please keep an open mind as our nation struggles to hear the thousands of voices who are literally fighting for their lives.
Let’s step back in history to the foundation of the United States police system. In reality, the police system is a fairly modern institution, and contrary to what many might believe, it was not originally founded to protect neighborhoods from crime.
Rather, the police system was an institution that originally sought to preserve slavery.
Although the first police department was established in New York City in 1844, the United States has a history of security systems and patrol that dates back to the early 18th century.
In the South, policing was first practiced with not just the intent of stabilizing business relations, but primarily preventing slave rebellions, as well as chasing down and capturing runaway slaves.
In 1704, the first slave patrol was founded in the Carolina colonies. Although this wasn’t formally recognized as a policing system, it operated as such. Things did change in the mid-19th century, but they became arguably even worse — during the years leading up to and during the Civil War, the military largely took over in patrol and policing, perpetuating an even more corrupt system of violence, privilege, and misplaced power. And although the military stepped down during the Reconstruction Era and the South began to construct official police departments, officers operated very similarly to the military. They were powerful, close-minded, violent, and biased. They still dedicated their time to hindering the black community’s rights in society and preventing them from being able to live equal lives.
Primarily, the police system in the South did not serve neighborhoods and communities in the prevention of crime and the safety of cities, but rather existed to enforce segregation and to ensure the separation of white and black lives, obstructing black people’s paths to success while simultaneously enabling white privilege. As is likely known by anyone who has studied American history, there were still millions of assaults, crimes, and lynchings against black people in the United States even after the abolishment of slavery. The existence of groups like the Ku Klux Klan also endangered the lives of the black community. Rather than speaking out against this injustice, police systems still continued to focus on prosecuting black people for small mistakes and even for doing nothing at all. Too many black lives were lost, and no one in the police force spoke up about them, defended their rights, or held white people accountable.
There was a sickening double-standard called racism, and it still exists today in the police systems that we consider our “protection.”
Police do not have a history of serving communities or protecting people. They simply served to enforce racist laws and endanger the black community. Even in the North, the foundation of policing did not exactly parallel the South, but unfortunately (yet unsurprisingly) followed in their footsteps. Some cities even constructed police departments for the purpose of business and community relations (such as in New York and Boston) but the system became ugly amidst some serious power complexes and blatant racism. The North might’ve looked like the good side during the Civil War, but just because Northern attitudes were less supportive of slavery did not make them any more actively accepting of black culture. They also were not any less racist. Their racism was simply driven into their society and institutions —and yes, especially into the police systems.
Now, fast forward to 2020. There are not enough cops representing marginalized populations. There is not enough training for cops that prevents racially motivated assaults, arrests, and killings. According to the Center for American Progress, people of color makeup over 60% of the incarcerated population, and yet only a fraction of the police force. For instance, according to Governing.com, the Minneapolis Police Department (responsible for the murder of George Floyd) is made up of about 80% white cops. Furthermore, of the 20% that are not white, black people — the population most victimized by police brutality — makes up only about 9% of it.
Clearly there are some stark inequities here. Especially in cities, where there are statistically higher populations of people of color, many cops do not proportionately represent the racial makeup of their areas. This is a problem that needs to be addressed as well.
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White people are the oppressors. We have been since the birth of the United States. We are the ones standing in power over people who fear for their lives at the mercy of a cop.
ACAB is not proclaiming that every single cop is violent. When people say they hate cops, they don’t mean that every single cop is a cold-blooded killer. They do not mean that every single cop is a sociopath. In fact, ACAB is not about every individual — it’s about the job, the system. There are cops who are human, ones who didn’t join the force out of a hunger for power.
But what is meant by ACAB and other anti-cop language is this: the system is corrupt. The system is racist. By being a part of that system, cops are agreeing to stand by and watch these atrocities happen — they are complicit. The system needs reform.
They make up a population of people that make the promise of serving protection but then turn their backs and let another cold-blooded murder story flood the news. It is the same system that immediately arrests innocent people like George Floyd over suspicion, but take days to arrest his murderer Derek Chauvin even after being confronted with video evidence.
Cops could step away, advocate, and change the system. They could choose not to be a part of it. They could choose to educate the community and stand up against these horrors. There is so much to do, and yet, unless they actively seek change, they are still there, a part of a system that directly takes lives and uses unnecessary violence.
At this point, we cannot pick and choose the “bad apples” and pretend that they are the ones souring it. Because for every “bad apple,” there are millions of supposedly “good apples” who stand idly by, stay quiet, witness murder, hurt innocent people, and constantly discriminate.
Just because they did not kill someone with their bare hands, like Derek Chauvin to George Floyd, does not mean that they are not every bit responsible. They are the Tou Thaos of the world, the Thomas Lanes of the world, the J. Alexander Kuengs of the world — the ones who sit and watch while their buddy kneels on a black man’s neck, listening expressionlessly as he screams in desperation that he cannot breathe. They are the ones who do not step in and stop when things go too far. And as Desmond Tutu said, “If you are silent in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” They are accessories to these crimes. “Bad apples” are not the exception. They are the norm. They are every voice that refuses to speak and defend the oppressed.
So, understand this: all cops that are complicit are also responsible. They are bad. The system is bad. It has failed. Even in its early days, it never existed for protection or peacekeeping. Its motives were in support of white supremacy and segregation.
The next time someone says “Black Lives Matter” on social media in remembrance and power of all of the black lives lost to police brutality, do not respond with “Blue Lives Matter, too.” Because there is no such thing as blue lives. They can take their uniforms off at the end of the day. Their lives are not the ones we need to focus on. Society has never given them a reason to believe that their lives don’t matter. They are already the ones in power. They are not the ones oppressed.
And next time someone talks about the atrocities of the police system and fumes in anger at the cops, don’t tell them it’s “not all cops.” Because, at the core, it is.
Seriously.
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Sources:
How the U.S. Got Its Police Force
Police – Early police in the United States
Police Department Race and Ethnicity Demographic Data
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Previously published on “Equality Includes You”, a Medium publication.
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Photo credit: ev on Unsplash