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The charge of whataboutism hinges upon the irrelevance of the counter-charge. Since the two are being accused here of exactly the same crime, the charge fails.
by camelite 13y ago
The charge of whataboutism hinges upon the irrelevance of the counter-charge. Since the two are being accused here of exactly the same crime, the charge fails. Not to mention that, from reading the wikipedia article, the inspiration for the term comes from a situation where the counter-charge comes from the initially accused party, which is not the case here.
- tptacek 13y agoNo it doesn't. Read some articles about it. The problem with Whataboutism is that two wrongs don't make a right, and that "you're a hypocrite" is a very superficial rebuttal to an otherwise valid criticism.
- kentrado 13y agoThere's nothing to rebut. The guy is pointing out an inconsistency in the way law operates. Fairness hinges on consistency. He is identifying the whole affair as unfair which is a valid statement to make. The "you are hypocrite" fallacy only applies when it is in the form of "you are a hypocrite, therefore what you are saying is false".
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- camelite 13y agoI didn't read the original comment as calling out "hackernews hypocrites" but rather the justice system.