Saturday 18 August 2007

Whatabout?

Rhetorical Ploy

Hwaw-Tah-Bowt

Devastating nuclear device of discourse, the deployment of which blasts, melts and obliterates the arguments of pro-fascists - much like what happens to the Nazis following the opening of the Ark of the Covenant at the end of the first Indiana Jones movie.

"Frankly, I feel that these friendly-fire incidents are symptomatic of a situation in which the U.S. army is operating reactively in a consequence-free environment."

"Oh really? Well, whatabout last week's chlorine-bombs in Baquba? Will you condemn that?"

"Whooaaaarrghhhh!" (Skin melts off face, speared by divine lightning, head explodes like a smashed watermelon.)

"I thought not."

Final and most often fatal stage of the Decent Debating Technique.

1 comment:

StuartA said...

It's important to note that "Whatabout?" cuts both ways.

An enemy of Decency can be defeated with a "whatabout?" involving power drills or Darfur, it's true. But that same enemy can also be confounded if they ever mention crimes not committed by George Bush's official enemies. Then they are guilty of the whataboutery or meanwhilery, and are by definition anti-American appeasers of objective fascism.