A "whataboutism" defense only works in an argument that goes like this: A:"You should stop doing X because X is wrong and evil and you are wrong and evil if yo

A "whataboutism" defense only works in an argument that goes like this: A:"You should stop doing X because X is wrong and evil and you are wrong and evil if you continue doing X!" B:"But you beat your wife." Where X != "beating one's wife". Here the B's argument is: "But you do X yourself!". This is not an attack on moral character but a direct refutation of A's argument. If A really thought X is wrong and evil then A would not be doing X. And if A really considers itself wrong and evil then it should be figuring a way to stop doing X first, or, at least, concurrently with demanding that from B. Either way, A is not very persuasive.