I don't read this comment as "what about the US?" I understand whataboutism to be bad because it turns things into a competition and diminishes the problems und

I don't read this comment as "what about the US?" I understand whataboutism to be bad because it turns things into a competition and diminishes the problems under discussion. I read that comment as "there are scary parallels here today." To me, it makes Tienanmen square more real and less other.