“They only call it class war when we fight back”

“They only call it class war(fare) when we fight back” is a statement that has been printed on posters. The saying was popular at the Occupy Wall Street protests in the fall of 2011.
 
“They only call it class war when we fight back” has been cited in print since at least November 2006, when a RevLeft bulletin board asked for “Communist/Anarchist Slogans.” A 2009 citation claims this as an “old Cuban saying,” but that has not been verified in print.
 
“When the rich rob the poor, it’s called business. When the poor fight back, it’s called violence” is a related saying.
 
           
RevLeft
Communist/Anarchist Slogans
Red October
26th November 2006, 16:55  
“they only call it class war when we fight back”
 
RevLeft
27th November 2008, 23:44
They call it class war when we fight back
i love this quote
 
Twitter
mika.‏
@mika2k1  
RT @johnrutledge: The Class War is Real: Rutledge Capital http://bit.ly/GkB69  > LOL! You only call it class warfare when people fight back.
4:15 PM - 23 Jul 09
 
Daily Grail
News Briefs 12-10-2009
Posted by Kat at 06:46, 12 Oct 2009
As the old Cuban saying goes, they only call it class warfare when we fight back.
 
Washington (DC) Post
Remember they only call it “class war” when the little guy has the balls to fight back.
Posted by: longwalksinparis | December 27, 2010 4:45 PM
     
Google Books
Occupying Wall Street:
The Inside Story of an Action that Changed America
By Writers for the 99%
New York, NY: OR Books
2011
Pg. 52:
Bearing signs such as “Student Debt = Indentured Servitude,” “They Call It Class War Only When We Fight Back!,” ...
 
Eurasia Review
Cindy Sheehan: From ‘Vulnerable’ To Invincible: A Program And Action For Economic Health – OpEd
By Cindy Sheehan
April 18, 2011
(...)
One of my favorite protest signs of all time reads, “THEY only call it class warfare when we fight back.”
 
Facebook
They Only Call It Class Warfare When We Fight Back
(Joined Facebook March 13, 2013—ed.)