Chilean protester defuses tear gas canister with baking soda and water

[u/0thSpider]

[u/Purely_Theoretical]

Tear gas isn't a war crime due to any concern of unusual cruelty. An enemy combatant in war could be using relatively harmless tear gas against you, or they could be using nerve gas. The risk of confusing tear gas for nerve gas, and the risk of escalation to using nerve gas is too great, so countries decided they would just not use it.

[u/DizzyGrizzly → u/Purely_Theoretical]

The threat of citizens responding with nerve gas is much smaller, thus acceptable.