Uploaded August 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
A statement from John, the band's vocalist, on the song in 2020:
With such an important movement like #BLACKLIVESMATTER gaining so much momentum over the last month, I would really like the opportunity to address a song that I wrote and performed years ago, “S.C.A.B.”, which stands for “some cops are bastards”. While there were plenty of people who never gave us any shit for this song, I will admit it was not a socially responsible or necessary action on my part. I don’t think the message in the song was ever clear overall, but it was always meant to be directed at those who thrive on white privilege fantasies like shouting “ACAB” at people who already agree with them, and was never meant to attack anybody who is actually oppressed by police. However, the lines “hate police because you’re scared” and “some cops will help you, protect you and save you” definitely turn a blind eye to the problem of police brutality, and also suggest some kind of bullshit “blue lives matter” stance, which I never agreed with, not then and not now. But based on some of the lyrical content of the song, “cop apologist” is not an unwarranted accusation. Police brutality is real, and a song like “S.C.A.B.” might do a fine job of calling out a few insincere people, but mostly it just deters from raising awareness about a vital issue in American society, as well as the world. Police brutality and police racism are not “light” topics...they are real, and must be addressed by everybody.
Would I release the song again? No, honestly I wouldn’t. In 2020, the song exists as a fair documentation of what the band was willing to say at the time in order to piss off people we thought were full of shit. Weekend Nachos was an antagonistic band. Sometimes we were on point with our message and did good things with it; other times, maybe not so much.
Black lives matter, and the police are a systemically racist institution that I don’t support. I am a person of white privilege who stands with anyone who has had enough of this fucking bullshit.
I’ve been debating for a while if I was going to address “S.C.A.B.”, and I felt it was more appropriate now than ever before. Thanks for listening to what I have to say about it. #weekendnachos
Lyrics:
Did you grow up on the street
Or are you just a fucking punk?
Hate police because you're scared
Hate police cuz' you don't care
SOME COPS ARE BASTARDS
Some cops will judge you, beat you
and kill you
Others will help you, protect you
and save you
[Dan Polak:]
Did you ever experience real brutality
Or did you read bout it on a lyric sheet?
Do you know what you're fighting for
Or are you just fucking bored?
BUST IT.
A statement from John, the band's vocalist, on the song in 2020:
With such an important movement like #BLACKLIVESMATTER gaining so much momentum over the last month, I would really like the opportunity to address a song that I wrote and performed years ago, “S.C.A.B.”, which stands for “some cops are bastards”. While there were plenty of people who never gave us any shit for this song, I will admit it was not a socially responsible or necessary action on my part. I don’t think the message in the song was ever clear overall, but it was always meant to be directed at those who thrive on white privilege fantasies like shouting “ACAB” at people who already agree with them, and was never meant to attack anybody who is actually oppressed by police. However, the lines “hate police because you’re scared” and “some cops will help you, protect you and save you” definitely turn a blind eye to the problem of police brutality, and also suggest some kind of bullshit “blue lives matter” stance, which I never agreed with, not then and not now. But based on some of the lyrical content of the song, “cop apologist” is not an unwarranted accusation. Police brutality is real, and a song like “S.C.A.B.” might do a fine job of calling out a few insincere people, but mostly it just deters from raising awareness about a vital issue in American society, as well as the world. Police brutality and police racism are not “light” topics...they are real, and must be addressed by everybody.
Would I release the song again? No, honestly I wouldn’t. In 2020, the song exists as a fair documentation of what the band was willing to say at the time in order to piss off people we thought were full of shit. Weekend Nachos was an antagonistic band. Sometimes we were on point with our message and did good things with it; other times, maybe not so much.
Black lives matter, and the police are a systemically racist institution that I don’t support. I am a person of white privilege who stands with anyone who has had enough of this fucking bullshit.
I’ve been debating for a while if I was going to address “S.C.A.B.”, and I felt it was more appropriate now than ever before. Thanks for listening to what I have to say about it. #weekendnachos
Lyrics:
Did you grow up on the street
Or are you just a fucking punk?
Hate police because you're scared
Hate police cuz' you don't care
SOME COPS ARE BASTARDS
Some cops will judge you, beat you
and kill you
Others will help you, protect you
and save you
[Dan Polak:]
Did you ever experience real brutality
Or did you read bout it on a lyric sheet?
Do you know what you're fighting for
Or are you just fucking bored?
BUST IT.
