Scott Tibbs
An especially poisonous form of whataboutism
By Scott Tibbs, March 13, 2024
Whataboutism has always been a thing. Sometimes it can be used to test someone's convictions, but it is also used to distract from an uncomfortable topic. (This is also known as a "red herring" logical fallacy.) However, I am noticing an especially poisonous trend that is increasingly common: Phantom hypocrisy. If you criticize anything one side does, you are immediately hit with "But this other thing was totally OK, right? Hypocrite!"
Rather than defend someone's rhetoric, actions or political tactics - or even argue the reaction to the thing being criticized is disproportionate - the responder fabricates a position out of thin air and applies it to the original argument. Here is an example I saw recently:
Person 1 criticizes truckers refusing to deliver goods to New York City.
Person 2: "But rioting and looting in 2020 is totally OK, right? Gotcha."
In addition to being a childish response, it is dishonest and destroys any chance for a productive dialogue. It also represents cowardice, trying to derail a discussion that you find uncomfortable by lobbing false accusations at the person criticizing the action you support. It is one thing to accuse someone of selective outrage: "You criticize A, but you had nothing to say about B." (Which often is not even true.) It is another thing entirely to fabricate a position out of thin air and falsely accuse someone of holding that position.
People, we need to be better. Address arguments honestly. Do not try to distract from things you find uncomfortable with endless red herrings. And, above all else, stop lying about people and what positions they hold. Christians, especially, should be careful not to misrepresent someone's position, which also means not making uncharitable assumptions and then making those assumptions public. Remember that God hates lies. (See Proverbs 6:16-19 and Proverbs 19:5.) We should seek to honor God in how we speak and write about politics.
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