whataboutist

  • Deestan@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Pedantery ahoy, but I’ll take your question at face value.

    There is no such term, as nobody is a whataboutist. Whataboutism is a rhethoric tool.

    While some rhethoric tools are always used intentionally, like jaq-ing and concern trolling. some are frequently (far from always!) used unconsciously because they just feel right:

    Attack on character, sealioning, whataboutism, appeal to authority, argument to moderation, fallacy of the beard, false dilemma, false equivalence, kettle logic, et cetera.

    In my experience, the answer to your question is “usually not”.