All cops are bastards, but so are the people who defend their actions

Content Warning: Discussion of police violence 

It is a well known phrase among the left. "All cops are Bastards" or ACAB for short. It stands for justice and to make clear to the world why the institute of the police should not exist. You have all probably heard the theory and reasoning behind this phrase already. "All cops are bastards because they exist to protect the wealthy elite, they are bastards because they oppress the lower classes and marginalized groups with extreme prejudice, they are bastards because they protect Fascists and other far right agitators". This is all fine and dandy but I am not here to give a theory lecture. If you want to read about theory then go find some video essay on YouTube or read some literature. No instead I am here to talk about the powers that are behind those cops, how even so called "moderate" politicians and people are more then willing to defend the brutality of the thugs in blue. 

Police brutality nowadays is more prevalent then ever. As a literal armchair activist I sometimes check out articles from the Dutch activist world. These include simple essays like the ones I write myself but they also often include after action reports from protests or demonstrations. The sheer brutality relayed through these reports is enough to make my mouth foam and my blood boil with anger. Activists often talk about their experiences with law enforcement during those protests and they paint a bleak picture. During the housing crisis protest in Rotterdam on the 17th of October 2021, police cracked down hard on the Anarchist block of that protest and proceeded to provoke people and beat into the activist group with batons. One activist reported being hit in the eye and getting a serious eye injury(1). During a very recent housing protest in Tilburg reported one prominent activist actually getting a unpleasant visit from local law enforcement before the protest even started! An attempt at intimidation(2). These are only 2 small examples from a long list of police not only brutalizing the very same people they are supposed to help and protect, but also police just flat out breaking their own laws. I myself(in the limited time that I actually did IRL activism) have also experienced some police violence in the sense that I(and the rest of my group) were forcibly(and illegally) removed from our protesting spot and were stalked and basically chased out of a city center by the so called "helpful" police officers. You can make the argument that this would not fall under police violence but considering that I still have visions of cops breaking my door in while I am asleep and murdering me, I would say that me calling it violence would be well justified. 

Of course whenever something like this happens the so called "authorities" often make a statement filled with weasel words and half truths to justify these actions, like what happened after the housing crisis protest in Rotterdam on the 17th(1 and 3). In this case it does not really matter which part of the political spectrum you are part of. Fascists, Conservatives, Liberals and Social Democrats all try to justify and more importantly legitimize these actions(though in fairness, Social Democrats at least try to get in independent investigation going usually, something that often goes nowhere). While the authorities are deflecting blame back to the protestors, every garbage centrist and liberal puts on a smarmy face and flexes their pseudo-intellectual brain muscles trying to smear "those violent protestors!". Often they will come to some spineless conclusion usually in the vein of: "You have the right to protest but not like this! Not in this violent manner!" while gesticulating to some half truth made by the authorities on how one of the protestors was carrying a sharp object or something. Often completely ignoring the fact that the police beat up several dozens of people. It is this awful way of consent manufacturing that I hate the most in cases like this. 

The big mistake most of the white middle class makes in analysis's like this is that they presume that both the protestors and law enforcement are on the same level in terms of power dynamics. This is blatantly untrue. Police officers have certain legal powers that elevate them above the average joe. While protesting and freedom of speech is technically legal in all circumstances(in the Netherlands at least), your average cop is not gonna check the constitution to see if you have the right to stand there or not. No the average cop sees you as a nuisance at best and as a threat at worst and will respond accordingly. Remember, police only exists to protect the interests of the state and of the wealthy elites, so if you are protesting against those then you automatically become a target in their eyes. As a matter of fact, a lot of the so called "violence" that is espoused by left wing protestors is actually a defense mechanism to protect each other and prevent them from getting injured or worse by police violence. It should also be noted that law enforcement itself often creates these dangerous situations in the first place. In the aftermath of the Rotterdam housing protests the police chef himself even admitted that there was a big chance that the demonstration would have gone a lot more peaceful if they had not intervened(1). Cops are not your friend. Police violence is indiscriminate and they are just as likely to go after you when you do something they don't like as they are to go after me or any other left wing activist.

By defending police action like this, you are not only defending the actions of a violent institution that only exists to oppress people, but you are also legitimizing their tactics which makes you just as guilty as the cop beating someone's skull in, in my opinion. It would be nice if we could all sit around a table to discuss the problems like this but reality simply does not work that way. Liberals and Centrists seem to be of the opinion that we should give everyone a voice in the "free marketplace of ideas" yet are awfully quick to deride left wing voices whenever we do something they don't like(a certain quickness that they won't have for the far right BTW). Direct action and grassroots activism exists because the authorities that are supposed to help us are either incapable or unwilling to fix the many problems we face in our society. Police violence shows very well the true nature of the state and it is our mission to abolish this unjust institution and replace it with something that actually helps people rather then respond to cries for help with violence(don't even get me started on the many Neurodivergent and people with mental instabilities that die needlessly at the hands of the police because they shot first and asked questions later).

If you happen to be a police officer and you are reading this then maybe you should ask yourself the question why people hate you all so much instead of complaining about "ungrateful leftists wanting chaos". If you take off that police uniform and resign your commission then maybe we might explain this to you, until that time comes however, you should not be surprised that we are criticizing you. 

Sources(In Dutch):

1. https://www.indymedia.nl/node/50785
2. https://peterstormt.nl/2021/11/01/woonactie-in-tilburg-een-kleine-triomf-in-meer-dimensies/
3. https://rotterdam.raadsinformatie.nl/document/10684789/1/s21bb013276_2_43681_tds