whataboutery

Etymology
Originally used in describing political discourse during the Northern Ireland troubles, it has also found use in discussions of the origins of other prolonged sectarian conflicts, such as the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Noun

 * 1) Protesting at hypocrisy; responding to criticism by accusing one's opponent of similar or worse faults.
 * 2) * 1998 Gerry Fitt, House of Lords debates Vol.591 col.457 (29 June 1998):
 * As the noble Lord, Lord Tebbit, will know, we have in Northern Ireland what we have referred to over the years as "whataboutery". When one talks about the atrocities of the IRA, someone from the other side will say, "Ah, but what about?" I have lived with that for 30 years in Northern Ireland. There is a lot of "whataboutery".
 * 1) Protesting at inconsistency; refusing to act in one instance unless similar action is taken in other similar instances.
 * 2) * 2011 Romesh Ratnesar "In Defense of Inconsistency" Time (US edition) 28 March 2011:
 * As Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson writes, "War in Libya is justifiable only if we are going to hold compliant dictators to the same standard we set for defiant ones." This line of argument has surfaced in nearly every debate about Western military intervention since the end of the Cold War. The British even have a term for it: whataboutery. If you are prepared to go to war to protect Libyan civilians from their government, then what about the persecuted in Bahrain?
 * 1) Protesting at inconsistency; refusing to act in one instance unless similar action is taken in other similar instances.
 * 2) * 2011 Romesh Ratnesar "In Defense of Inconsistency" Time (US edition) 28 March 2011:
 * As Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson writes, "War in Libya is justifiable only if we are going to hold compliant dictators to the same standard we set for defiant ones." This line of argument has surfaced in nearly every debate about Western military intervention since the end of the Cold War. The British even have a term for it: whataboutery. If you are prepared to go to war to protect Libyan civilians from their government, then what about the persecuted in Bahrain?
 * 1) * 2011 Romesh Ratnesar "In Defense of Inconsistency" Time (US edition) 28 March 2011:
 * As Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson writes, "War in Libya is justifiable only if we are going to hold compliant dictators to the same standard we set for defiant ones." This line of argument has surfaced in nearly every debate about Western military intervention since the end of the Cold War. The British even have a term for it: whataboutery. If you are prepared to go to war to protect Libyan civilians from their government, then what about the persecuted in Bahrain?

Synonyms

 * ad hominem, tu quoque, recrimination