From what I've seen, in context, a whataboutism is concerned about the argument of moral authority and precedent from the person accusing a AES or progressive of something bad...

Here's some rules:

Apply it when it relates to the precedent of incidents that seem exceptionally bad, when committed by Actually-Existing-Socialist countries, but are ignored, if not justified in Capitalist ones... they could be explained as historical thinking of the time or justified under circumstances

For example: https://hexbear.net/post/2329752 (Homosexuality laws compared between historical Soviet Union and the West, lemmygrad meme)

Show

However, don't use irrelevant ones to detract from past mistakes, they make you look daft and aloof

The US drone strikes it's own citizens on foreign soil so yet again China is doing a bad thing that's not nearly as bad as what the US is doing and everyone just ignores what the US is doing and shouts BUT CHYNA! Racist hacks

I'll explain more later on...

  • JohnBrownNote [comrade/them, des/pair]
    ·
    7 months ago

    Also arguing with libs online is an enormous waste of time, just find a better hobby.

    it's not about the lib you're talking to directly, it's about the ones reading the conversation who are less on the defense against your points. Literally right now I don't expect to change your mind on the topic but rather to encourage and reassure other people who will see this.