I’ve recently been introduced to the term ‘whatabout-ism’. I guess I knew it was a ‘thing’, I just didn’t know what the colloquial term for it was. You probably recognise it as ‘deflection’ – of course on social media it has taken on a character of its own. I’ve discovered the phenomenon is rife in contemporary discourse. Here’s a recent example (directed at me):
'Just another typical responce(sic) from a western female who cares not for her islamic and third world sisters.'
Wtf? How did we get from a discussion on equity for women to THAT?
My darkest fears were confirmed when I overheard a conversation between prison officers the other day at work. One animated male was holding the floor and raving about how women were oppressed under Islam and how girls were still being circumcised in Malaysia. Again wtf? Is this a pathetic attempt by the patriarchy to put us back in our place because other women actually have something to complain about, but we in the West don't? Of course it is.
So I Googled whataboutism:
‘Whataboutism when employed as a response in an argument, or as a troll tactic, takes away the attention from the issue at hand. A lot of experts have been observing a rise in this logically faulty technique in regular discourse’. (1)
Yep. That’s it. So I Googled 'patriarchy in Australia', just to make sure it was also a ‘thing’ and I wasn't making it up:
‘Is Australia a patriarchal society?
Patriarchy is a site of oppression for women in Australia. All systems and institutions are patriarchal – health systems, legal systems, legislation, education systems, decision-making -political and governments systems, welfare system, and so on are all developed within patriarchal ideology’.
When you say it like that it seems obvious. The author was from a now defunct group advocating for the elimination of violence against women in Australia and it’s on the money.
To combat the new ‘but what about…’ tactic being used by the patriarchy, I don’t engage. Instead I immediately nip it in the bud and declare: ‘this is just a deflection from the topic’.
It seems to shut them down pretty quickly.
Graphic: modified by author (I changed the text)
(1) https://www.bclocalnews.com/opinion/whataboutism-the-epidemic-hidden-in-plain-sight/
(2) Women Everywhere Advocating Violence Elimination Inc (Australia) http://www.weaveinc.org.au