War, Terrorism - Who Defines the Terms?

monetizeyourcat:

our society sees violence by the class in power as legitimate and violence by the oppressed as illegitimate, because it’s structured to favor the class in power and maintain oppression

Or, as I’ve also heard it put: War is terrorism by the rich. Terrorism is war by the poor. I say this not as an endorsement of terrorism or war, nor as denial of the sometime necessity of violence, but as a condemnation of the ruling class’s claim that there is a difference.