I don’t think anyone hears ACAB as a systemic critique unless theyre already an abolitionist or inclined to be one. I am not really interested in talking just to the same people already in the circle. It is pretty unhelpful and I don’t think it makes sense to use it just because you know what it means to you and others who think like you (and probably like me). Cops is a word that describes people, not systems. By definition. There is no system named cops. There are people who are cops. Everyone hears it that way. Even most of the people who use ACAB feel it describes literally every person who works as a cop. Even your argument said that, bc you are saying one can’t be good and a cop bc you’ll get run out of policing. Well, I said that explicitly in the piece. But the reason is because if you are a good cop or try and be one the system will crush you. But to say ACAB would mean there would be no one in that job who would ever try and speak out against that system and that is just plain wrong. So it is intellectually not accurate, and strategically not helpful.

It’s not like BLM. It’s pretty easy to explain BLM to people when they get pissy about it, and anyone open to it will get it. ACAB puts people on the defensive immediately, and to then say “we mean the system” people say, well why not just say “policing is an oppressive institution.” That might get pushback too, but at least it’s a statement that is clear and straightforward. Having to backpedal and get to the system point in a 2-step vs 1 just doesn’t make sense to me.

I just see no upside to using ACAB compared to downside. What would the upside be? How is it helpful? Just because it feels good to flip off people (metaphorically or literally)? That’s a personal conceit not a movement strategy. It’s not like this is a slogan Black people got together and agreed upon or embraced, like BLM. It’s literally an Oi song. Its derivation is British and white working class. So it’s not like rejecting it is rejecting some autonomous Black self-determination move. I just can’t understand why we would make things harder for ourselves in the work if we don’t have to do so…