Whataboutery

As the noble Lord, Lord Tebbit, will know, we have in Northern Ireland what we have referred to over the years as "whataboutery". When one talks about the atrocities of the IRA, someone from the other side will say, "Ah, but what about?" I have lived with that for 30 years in Northern Ireland. There is a lot of "whataboutery".

Criticism is stereotyped as 'civil servant bashing' or the weapon of whataboutery is unsheathed: official statements accelerate about inefficient private sector management.

The danger is that remembrance is used for self-righteousness, self-justification, point-scoring and what-about-ery.

In terms of dealing with the past, whataboutery is premised on the denial of the truths of the 'other' as a way to highlight the innocence and moral integrity of one's own experiences. Previous commentaries on prospects for truth recovery in Northern Ireland have noted the concern that a formal truth process could become a forum for the institutionalisation of whataboutery (McEvoy 2006).

We know a lot of people around us who would resort to whataboutery or hypocrisy when it is upon them to take a stand.

As Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson writes, "War in Libya is justifiable only if we are going to hold compliant dictators to the same standard we set for defiant ones." This line of argument has surfaced in nearly every debate about Western military intervention since the end of the Cold War. The British even have a term for it: whataboutery. If you are prepared to go to war to protect Libyan civilians from their government, then what about the persecuted in Bahrain?

They are skilled in whataboutery: the art of avoiding the issue.

And this also is when activists who advocate eco-friendly celebrations are countered with whataboutery on crackers:“What about animal slaughter done by other religion?” “What about industrial pollution?” “Don’t you pollute air by taking out your car?” “If you are talking against this you should also talk about that, otherwise you are biased,” etc. etc.