tell that to all the civilians in Guantanamo and Gaza.

if the first aggressor doesn't give a fuck about rule of war, it can't complain about them

In the history of the world, it has only been a very short window during the late 20th/ early 21 st century that civilians were not considered fair game in war, although they get slaughtered anyway. Even with civilians being off limits, as recently as WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East, civilians have been targets either by design, by atrocity, or by proximity.

If there's a war, don't think you're getting off the hook just because you're a civilian. During war, the old adage "If your not with us, you're against us" becomes weaponized.

i mean true honest war does not have rules like that. the reason “rules of war” exist is so corporations can keep a labor pool and capital operating with minimal effect to profit. (“Ain’t no war but class war.”)

true honest realistic “war” is carpet bombs, famine, death, and capitulation.

stop expecting “war” to involve rules, you’ll only be surprised in the end.

Americans have only ever pretended to care about non-combatants when it's convenient. President Obama even invented the term 'enemy combatant' so he could pretend his drone strikes were killing fewer civilians.

Well, it used to be that they were too. Have you heard of all the cities in Europe that were effectively destroyed during WWII?

It comes and goes, usually whenever it's useful. It sucks, but war is horrible. If civilians don't want to be targets they should pressure their governments to not be in them. Yes, sometimes it's worth fighting, but sometimes it isn't.