Whataboutism: Are there times when you can use it?

Whataboutism denotes in a pejorative sense a procedure in which a critical question or argument is not answered or discussed, but retorted with a critical counter-question which expresses a counter-accusation.

If you criticize an Israeli about his government's treatment of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and he replies, "What about Myanmar or the Uyghurs in China" he might be silenced with the accusation "Whataboutism!" In fact, whataboutism is a perfectly acceptable response to counter a double standard or scapegoating. An essential feature of anti-Semitism (or any scapegoating strategy, such as racism) is the double standard. Blacks are often held to a higher standard than whites. Often, the only way to point out a double standard is a "whatabout." What does that tell you about the whataboutism fanatics--those who keep crying out Whataboutism!? Is the accusation of whataboutism a favorite of people who like to scapegoat others? One wonders.


Here's a permissible what about:

A pro-Israel Facebooker posted this in reference to the double standard that Israel is held to. Atrocities, unfortunately, occur throughout the world. Yet, the critical finger seems to point with special insistence to Israel's war crimes, as if that (majority-Jewish) country were a repository of evil in the world.

The issue here is the double standard and its cousin, scapegoating.