Well... Murder is a word that defines killing as unlawful within certain legal parameters. The difference between murder and self defense, then, is criteria. So is the law based on collective morals, or are collective morals based on the law? It sounds pedantic, but because of the close association between the two, the argument is skewed to support self defense. Most people think unlawfulness is bad. Or in the case of murder, evil. Which classifies their will to survive as evil. That's difficult for many people to admit.

( what a punk. )