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<a id="gmail-label" href="https://www.blackagendareport.com/praise-whataboutism" rel="bookmark"><font size="4"><b><span>In Praise of "Whataboutism"</span></b></font>
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<span><a href="https://www.blackagendareport.com/author/Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist">Margaret Kimberley, </a><br></span></div><div class="gmail-author-details"><br><span></span>
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09 Mar 2022
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<div class="gmail-field gmail-field--name-field-cover-image gmail-field--type-image gmail-field--label-hidden gmail-field--item"><a href="https://www.blackagendareport.com/sites/default/files/2022-03/redfish.jpg" title="In Praise of "Whataboutism"" class="gmail-colorbox gmail-cboxElement"><img src="https://www.blackagendareport.com/sites/default/files/2022-03/redfish.jpg" alt="In Praise of "Whataboutism"" class="gmail-img-responsive" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="310" height="392">
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<div class="gmail-field gmail-field--name-field-image-caption gmail-field--type-string gmail-field--label-hidden gmail-field--item">Image: redfish</div>
<div class="gmail-field gmail-field--name-body gmail-field--type-text-with-summary gmail-field--label-hidden gmail-field--item"><p><em>The
word "whataboutism" is used to silence and insult opponents of U.S.
imperialism. It should be embraced as a means of revealing what is too
often kept hidden.</em></p>
<p>Anyone who speaks out against imperialism, capitalism, or racism with
concrete examples of the terrible harm they do, can expect to be
charged with the dreaded term “whataboutism.” Like clockwork, the act of
revealing American crimes will result in an accusation that is used to
silence dissent.</p>
<p>When war propaganda prevails regarding Ukraine or any other place
where the hegemon is doing its dirty work, it is reasonable to ask
probing questions. Why are the deaths of 14,000 people killed by
Ukraine's civil war swept under the rug? Why is it forbidden to ask
about the U.S. destruction of Libya? But once having asked a good
question, one will be told that raising the topic is proof of the
whataboutism sin.</p>
<p>The word whataboutism is in the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whataboutism" rel="nofollow" class="gmail-0" target="_blank">dictionary<span class="gmail-0"><span class="element-invisible"> </span></span></a>
and is defined as, “the act or practice of responding to an accusation
of wrongdoing by claiming that an offense committed by another is
similar or worse.” That meaning is accurate and also completely
defensible.</p>
<p>The charge is meant to censor the speaker, excuse U.S. actions, and
defend its human rights violations. The denials and apologies are
exactly why whataboutism should be defended. It is terrible when lies
and crimes are not countered with verifiable information exposing them.</p>
<p>The term has gained popularity in part because there is so much
hypocrisy to point out and there are so many adherents to American
exceptionalism who defend what they should condemn. When the <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=2022-prosecutor-statement-referrals-ukraine" rel="nofollow" class="gmail-0" target="_blank">International Criminal Court (ICC)<span class="gmail-0"><span class="element-invisible"> </span></span></a>
announced that it would begin investigating “the Situation in Ukraine”
corporate media and their political partners gloated and pointed fingers
at Russia. They didn’t point out that the U.S., like Russia, is not a
signatory of the Treaty of Rome which brought the ICC into existence.
Not only is the U.S. not a member state, but in 2002 Congress passed the
<a href="https://2001-2009.state.gov/t/pm/rls/othr/misc/23425.htm" rel="nofollow" class="gmail-0" target="_blank">American Service Members Protection Act<span class="gmail-0"><span class="element-invisible"> </span></span></a>,
popularly known as the Hague Invasion Act. It gives the U.S. the right
to extract any American held at the court in the Hague. The removal part
isn’t even necessary because the act prohibits the extradition of
Americans to the ICC.</p>
<p>The chest thumping about the investigation into Ukraine should surely
be followed by a discussion of U.S. hostility to the ICC. It is a clear
example of when and how whataboutism should be practiced. Not
mentioning the U.S. relationship or rather lack of relationship with the
ICC would be an indication of agreement with exceptionalist doctrine.</p>
<p>If Vladimir Putin is described as a war criminal, thug, dictator, and
a modern day Hitler, it is appropriate and indeed necessary to ask
about American presidents. For brevity’s sake consider only those
American presidents who served since 2001. U.S. invasions and
interventions in western Asia, North Africa, central Asia and the Horn
of Africa have displaced more than <a href="https://watson.brown.edu/research/2020/Post-9/11DisplacementStudy" rel="nofollow" class="gmail-0" target="_blank">37 million people<span class="gmail-0"><span class="element-invisible"> </span></span></a>
since the “war on terror” began. Why shouldn’t George W. Bush, Barack
Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden be called war criminals too? Silence
in the face of their criminality gives license and approval to U.S.
aggressions.</p>
<p>American exceptionalism is an illness which infects most of the
population of this country. Unfortunately most people need little
prompting to defend their nation’s misdeeds. George W. Bush is now
thought of as a kindly old man who paints pictures of puppies. There is
little inclination to acknowledge the one million dead from the Iraq
invasion. Doing so would create great discomfort.</p>
<p>Every news story about migrants attempting a perilous crossing from
North Africa to Europe should mention the destruction of Libya which
took place under the direction of Barack Obama. But Obama is the first
Black president, and he is still considered a model of rectitude, a man
who brought hope and change. Pointing out his responsibility for an
ongoing humanitarian crisis is too much for people propagandized into
believing in his goodness and the nation’s.</p>
<p>Even Donald Trump, who is ordinarily disparaged and reviled, is not
called out for continuing his predecessors’ wars or for killing at least
<a href="https://cepr.net/report/economic-sanctions-as-collective-punishment-the-case-of-venezuela/" rel="nofollow" class="gmail-0" target="_blank">40,000 <span class="gmail-0"><span class="element-invisible"> </span></span></a>Venezuelans
through his sanctions regime. Trump derangement syndrome doesn’t extend
to his crimes against people of the global south. The power of the
white supremacist exceptionalist myth has a very strong hold.</p>
<p>That myth can’t be rooted out and destroyed unless inconvenient facts
are brought to light. If the clueless and compromised want to shout,
“Whataboutism!” at the top of their lungs by all means they should do
so. Although the targets of their scorn should not feel the need to
justify themselves. In fact they should proudly own the word, and double
down on providing whatever information is causing cognitive dissonance.</p>
<p>The world needs to know about America’s crimes and those of its
allies too. When the same European nations that turn away African and
Middle Eastern refugees announce that they will accept any and all
Ukrainians surely whataboutism is in order. When Biden presumes to
lecture Russia, his decision to steal $7 billion in Afghanistan’s assets
should be brought to light. Afghans are in such a desperate state that
many of them resort to <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/28/desperate-afghans-resort-to-selling-kidneys-to-feed-families" rel="nofollow" class="gmail-0" target="_blank">selling their kidneys<span class="gmail-0"><span class="element-invisible"> </span></span></a> in order to feed themselves.</p>
<p>The crisis in Ukraine is just the latest example of an opportunity to
point out the wrongs committed by the U.S. and its partners. No one
should shrink from doing so, not even when whataboutism is used as a
pejorative instead of as the badge of honor that it is.</p>
<p><em><strong>Margaret Kimberley’is the author of <a href="http://steerforth.com/titles/prejudential/written+by-margaret+kimberley" rel="nofollow" class="gmail-0" target="_blank">Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents<span class="gmail-0"><span class="element-invisible"> </span></span></a>. Her work can also be found at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/margaretkimberley" rel="nofollow" class="gmail-0" target="_blank">patreon.com/margaretkimberley <span class="gmail-0"><span class="element-invisible"> </span></span></a>and on Twitter @freedomrideblog. Ms. Kimberley can be reached via email at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgendaReport.com.</strong></em> </p>
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