What about ism in my opinion is an inability of the person who does it to accept Jewish pain, suffering, and mourning as legitimate. They need to ‘unsee’ the Bibas family story of annihilation the same way they tore down hostage posters. Because to ‘see it’ is to begin to accept the vast reality of Gazan atrocities. Which they can’t do. So the swift pivot to the whining ‘what about the thousands of..,,’ is a rhetorical way to unsee what happened on October 7.
I will not even deal with the substance of these comments (how many Gazan babies actually died in the war etc). That’s a diversion. It’s the what about ism that I push back on. It’s ’all lived mattering’ the Jews. I will not let this go.
I recently did this to someone on stack here and this person had a virtual meltdown.
Thank you for reading my essay and taking the time to answer. Whataboutism is always about deflection. So far, I haven’t actually had any negative interactions on this blog. I will just have to wait to get more popular. :)
Very well put. But I think “whataboutism” is a deliberate ideological tool of totalitarians or would-be totalitarians. It was a running joke in the USSR that if the newspapers published an item about a plane crash in the West, it meant that ten Soviet planes had crashed. Whataboutism is a way to divert your attention back to the enemy. It’s an equivalent of Orwell’s Two Minutes Hate in 1984.
Most of TOI reads like Haaretz for Dummies .You can get far better coverage of the war and the hostages at JNS Anyone engages in equivocating between civilians killing infants and collateral damage of civilians ought to see the linked articles
This is the Israeli version of the Deep State which is more interested in pleasing the woke world view and the U S Deep State than in winning wars and protecting the lives of Israelis
I grew up in a family where “whataboutism” was rife; my older sibling was a “past master” practitioner of it. Whenever they were caught doing (or having done) something wrong, their favourite “go-to” was ‘but what about x, y, z, that Derek has done? Why are you picking on me, when he isn’t getting smacked for what he has done?’ - and it went on and on, through my adolescence, and into my adulthood. So much so, that it seemed as if everyone could see the “kick me” sign on my back.
I am only now, at the age of almost 62, recovering from the trauma. But I have learned two things:
Forgive them, and
God has used this to build my resilience and trust in Him, rather than anyone else.
Don’t give up, because Jesus hasn’t - and won’t - give up on you. Ever.
Thank you for your articles! Reading about honor was very interesting - thanks for the links to "Celebrating orientalism" . The world once more refused to see what really happened before their eyes...
The psychological basis for whataboutism is what the late Canadian-Israeli psychologist, Ziva Kunda (who happened to be the external examiner for my doctoral dissertation), called "motivated reasoning". Her landmark paper cited over 11,000 times can be found here: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1991-06436-001
Shelah posted elsewhere that it seems like evil is spreading across the globe like the paint on the Sherwin-Williams logo. It does indeed seem like an evil miasma is seeping into so many cornors. Despite all the travail, Israel remains a bright beacon of hope, as well attested to in the Tanakh.
How about this for the alliteration: Disingenuous, duplicitous, detestable? 😊🌼✡
What about ism in my opinion is an inability of the person who does it to accept Jewish pain, suffering, and mourning as legitimate. They need to ‘unsee’ the Bibas family story of annihilation the same way they tore down hostage posters. Because to ‘see it’ is to begin to accept the vast reality of Gazan atrocities. Which they can’t do. So the swift pivot to the whining ‘what about the thousands of..,,’ is a rhetorical way to unsee what happened on October 7.
I will not even deal with the substance of these comments (how many Gazan babies actually died in the war etc). That’s a diversion. It’s the what about ism that I push back on. It’s ’all lived mattering’ the Jews. I will not let this go.
I recently did this to someone on stack here and this person had a virtual meltdown.
Thank you for reading my essay and taking the time to answer. Whataboutism is always about deflection. So far, I haven’t actually had any negative interactions on this blog. I will just have to wait to get more popular. :)
Very well put. But I think “whataboutism” is a deliberate ideological tool of totalitarians or would-be totalitarians. It was a running joke in the USSR that if the newspapers published an item about a plane crash in the West, it meant that ten Soviet planes had crashed. Whataboutism is a way to divert your attention back to the enemy. It’s an equivalent of Orwell’s Two Minutes Hate in 1984.
Thank you for reading. Your analogy is very interesting. Very food for thought.
Fox and Spencer are must reads on the tactics of the IDF in Gaza
Most of TOI reads like Haaretz for Dummies .You can get far better coverage of the war and the hostages at JNS Anyone engages in equivocating between civilians killing infants and collateral damage of civilians ought to see the linked articles
https://www.jns.org/a-deep-state-doesnt-get-any-deeper-than-this/
This is the Israeli version of the Deep State which is more interested in pleasing the woke world view and the U S Deep State than in winning wars and protecting the lives of Israelis
I grew up in a family where “whataboutism” was rife; my older sibling was a “past master” practitioner of it. Whenever they were caught doing (or having done) something wrong, their favourite “go-to” was ‘but what about x, y, z, that Derek has done? Why are you picking on me, when he isn’t getting smacked for what he has done?’ - and it went on and on, through my adolescence, and into my adulthood. So much so, that it seemed as if everyone could see the “kick me” sign on my back.
I am only now, at the age of almost 62, recovering from the trauma. But I have learned two things:
Forgive them, and
God has used this to build my resilience and trust in Him, rather than anyone else.
Don’t give up, because Jesus hasn’t - and won’t - give up on you. Ever.
Thank you for your articles! Reading about honor was very interesting - thanks for the links to "Celebrating orientalism" . The world once more refused to see what really happened before their eyes...
http://www.meforum.org/6400/celebrating-orientalism
Thank you for reading. Thanks for the link, too.
The psychological basis for whataboutism is what the late Canadian-Israeli psychologist, Ziva Kunda (who happened to be the external examiner for my doctoral dissertation), called "motivated reasoning". Her landmark paper cited over 11,000 times can be found here: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1991-06436-001
Thank you for this information. This sounds very interesting.
Shelah posted elsewhere that it seems like evil is spreading across the globe like the paint on the Sherwin-Williams logo. It does indeed seem like an evil miasma is seeping into so many cornors. Despite all the travail, Israel remains a bright beacon of hope, as well attested to in the Tanakh.
How about this for the alliteration: Disingenuous, duplicitous, detestable? 😊🌼✡
Evil does seem to be rearing its ugly head globally. I'm not sure what that means for the next decade, but it doesn't look good.
Like the alliteration.
What you said!
😊
You are a brilliant communicator, and writer. It is a shame you are not in politics either as a leader, or advisor to the top job.
Thank you very much for the compliment. I have enough problems in my life without going into politics. 😉