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    • 1 year

      “It’s suspicious that well known sink-pisser Larry is accusing Bob of pissing in the sink” is not whataboutism.

      • 1 year

        No, that’s literally whataboutism. It’s saying the merit of their accusation is based on their history of doing that thing rather than evidence of who they’re accusing of doing it. Fairly typical ad hominem attack.

        • Amnesigenic@lemmy.mlBanned from communityEnglish
          1 year

          No, it’s not “whataboutism” because the source of the accusations is extremely relevant. The US and our allies lied about Iraq and Afghanistan to justify our invasions, and got all of the same western media outlets that are cosigning our accusations towards China did the same with those confirmed lies. We have a verifiable history of lying about other counteies to justify our foreign policy, and we have extremely obvious motive to lie about China right now. Pretending that’s not the case doesn’t help your credibility.

          • 1 year

            Right! You can cast doubt on their honesty by pointing out that they have lied before. That’s called evidence.

            However, saying they do the same thing as the other guy is not evidence of them lying. That’s whataboutism and ad hominem.

            • 1 year

              I’m known to do something actively, constantly, and on purpose. When I accuse another person of doing that thing, its a very good reason to cast doubt on my claims and motives. That is a perfectly valid argument.

            • “I like to find any reason to not listen or understand anyone who doesnt agree with me!”

      • If Bob is pissing in the sink, who the fuck cares if Larry The Sink Pisser is saying someone else is pissing in the sink too?

        “what about all the sink pissing Larry has done?” is literally whataboutism.

    • Amnesigenic@lemmy.mlBanned from communityEnglish
      1 year

      This isn’t a counterargument, it’s a thought-terminating cliche