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this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2023
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In my Dutch/British East India Co example it is whataboutism because the purpose of brining up the Dutch East India company is to divert from the subject at hand. In your examples you ARE providing context and are not trying to change the subject so your examples are not examples of whataboutism and that is why you are not understanding what "whataboutism" is and why it is a fallacy.
If I said the USSR was authoritarian and therefore did not represent the will of the masses and you said "what about British the monarchy" and then tried to focus on that discussion then that would ge whataboutism.
Whataboutism is not about providing context through contrasting examples. It is a diversionary tactic for when you cannot address the claims made.
Im not being a hypocrite. You just don't understand what whataboutism is as you have proved with your examples which once again are not examples of whataboutism.
That's a shitty way of separating it though. It relies on knowing authorial intent which is impossible. You can project whatever you want onto the other person and based on that theyre either doing a logical fallacy or not.
No it doesn't. The intent is obvious as a counter example works in context and isn't a diversionary tactic.
If the topic is Donald Trump's role in the insurrection on 1/6/21 and you say "but whatabout Hilary's email's?" that's whataboutism because Hilary's email scandal is unrelated.
If you instead said "what about the fact that Trump never appeared with the crowd outside the designated permitted spot and never told anyone to riot?" that would not be whataboutism because it is relevant.
Context is everything. Whataboutism is a fallacy and that is why. It does not make an argument flow from premise to conclusion.