--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's only terrorism if they do it to us…" description: "\"It's only terrorism if they do it to us. When we do much worse to them, it's not terrorism.\" — Noam Chomsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/noam-chomsky-42_israel_it-s-only-terrorism-if-they-do-it-to-us_2384352.jpg" --- # It's only terrorism if they do it to us. When we do much… ![“It's only terrorism if they do it to us. When we do much worse to them, it's not terrorism.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/noam-chomsky-42_israel_it-s-only-terrorism-if-they-do-it-to-us_2384352.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/noam-chomsky-42_israel_it-s-only-terrorism-if-they-do-it-to-us_2384352.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/noam-chomsky-42_israel_it-s-only-terrorism-if-they-do-it-to-us_2384352.jpg) > “It's only terrorism if they do it to us. When we do much worse to them, it's not terrorism.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violence is judged asymmetrically; actions labeled terrorism depend on who is affected, revealing bias. **In simple terms:** Violence is labeled differently based on perspective. Key Takeaway Question double standards in labeling violence. Themes power violence bias Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - media analysis - policy critique - human rights advocacy Key Concepts political theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - Who decides what counts as terrorism? - How does power influence moral judgments? A Different Perspective Labeling can obscure responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorism/) ## Related quotes > [“Rashid was crushed in his wheelchair when one of Israel’s huge US-supplied bulldozers demolished his home with the family inside. Thanks to prevailing moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/rashid-was-crushed-in-his-wheelchair-when-one-of-israel-s-huge-us/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The Obama administration is dedicated to increasing terrorism. In fact, he is doing it all over the world. Obama is running the biggest terrorist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-obama-administration-is-dedicated-to-increasing-terrorism-in-fact/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Everyone’s worried about stopping terrorism. 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Its strategic doctrines are defensive, designed to deter invasion long enough for diplomacy to set it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/iran-has-little-capacity-to-deploy-force-its-strategic-doctrines-are/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The people who live on the land - Israelis and Palestinians - have a right to live in security and peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-people-who-live-on-the-land-israelis-and-palestinians-have-a/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Israel has a couple of hundred nuclear weapons and also chemical and biological weapons. 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This is a whiff of early Nazi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-historical-analogs-which-are-not-exact-of-course-but-are/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [We condemn all shades and hues of terrorism and militancy and want to cooperate with India to fight this menace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shehbaz-sharif/we-condemn-all-shades-and-hues-of-terrorism-and-militancy-and-want-to/) [Shehbaz Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shehbaz-sharif/) > [ \[I provoke\] the system \[to\] show its true face ... so that through its own acts of terrorism ... the masses will rise against it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrike-meinhof/i-provoke-the-system-to-show-its-true-face-so-that-through-its-own/) [Ulrike Meinhof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrike-meinhof/) > [If it is terrorism, if it is war on terror, then the Afghan people will join you on terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/if-it-is-terrorism-if-it-is-war-on-terror-then-the-afghan-people-will/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [I'm a New York kid, so when I saw that plane that hit the first building, I suspected it was terrorism - blue sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-keane/i-m-a-new-york-kid-so-when-i-saw-that-plane-that-hit-the-first/) [Jack Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-keane/) > [On 9-11, we discovered that we cannot escape from the world. 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