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No, issuing regulation against drugs on their own territory is not a "war". But deploying Royal Navy to acquire foreign territory for trade is the "war".
by ammo1662 4y ago
No, issuing regulation against drugs on their own territory is not a "war".
But deploying Royal Navy to acquire foreign territory for trade is the "war".
- _tik_ 4y agoI did not know Qing sent their Royal Navy to attack England. Can you provide any reference?
- throwbigdata 4y agoEngland took Hong Kong.
- _tik_ 4y agoOk, now I know. I assumed HK was a Qing territory annexed by England. Like Russia annexed Donbas
- uncletaco 4y agoI think he meant opium war in the same sense that Americans say war on drugs.
- fallingfrog 4y agoI think you're right, but it's a perfect illustration of why we should definitely not be using "war" as a word for every task we undertake. Calling it a "war on drugs" is bad because it implies that we are attacking someone or something rather than looking at it as healing a nation from the harm caused by drugs, which even though it's just a difference of phrasing, lends itself to a more empathetic approach. Framing matters. Language matters. Nowadays every act of vandalism is "terrorism" and everything we do is a "war". But as you can never eliminate drugs or terror or vandalism or poverty completely, it's a war that can never be won, so it's dishonest both in terms of scope and in terms of how it frames possible action.
- zozbot234 4y ago> No, issuing regulation against drugs on their own territory is not a "war". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_drugs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_drugs