Whatabouts

[IM2]

Let us observe the actual practice of the whatabout here at USMB.

WHATABOUT: (noun) a person who distracts from a salient point by using a false equivalency or a marginally related, tangential point.

Example: Whatabouts always say: “I don’t mind NFL players protesting injustice. But what about the troops who fight for our freedoms?”

The 2019 List of Things Black People Are Too Ashamed to Talk About

Michael Harriot

You’ve seen them before.

They are your friends, neighbors and coworkers. They lurk in the shadows bouncing back and forth on the balls of their feet like a skilled double-dutch dancer ready to hop between the twirling ropes and derail any conversation about race, police brutality, politics, or white supremacy. They are opinionated, they are relentless, and they are everywhere.

Whether it’s black-on-black crime or illegal immigration, whatabouts maintain that the negro retina is blind to certain facts that would disprove the existence of racism and officially certify America as a post-racial society. They actually believe black people refuse to acknowledge or admit we have shortcomings.

So, in an attempt at becoming more efficient, we’ve compiled this handy-dandy list of oft-used topics raised repeatedly by black conservatives, Facebook trolls and people who once fantasized about living in the apartment across from Ross, Chandler, and Joey. Feel free to bookmark this link and forward it whenever a random whatabout employs this technique in an argument to make themselves look smart or feel like they’re not a part of the problem.

https://www.theroot.com/the-2019-list-of-things-black-people-are-too-ashamed-to-1831439323

 

[fncceo]

Ross, Chandler, and Joey

Never lived in the same apartment.

 

[Marion Morrison]

I can Double-Dutch. Grew up doing it with the black girls.

 

[emilynghiem]

IM2 What about a REAL "what about" that really shuts people up
(and not a fake what about):

What about the difference in media coverage between
* black people missing
* white girls missing

What about that?

 

[Disir]

Let us observe the actual practice of the whatabout here at USMB.

WHATABOUT: (noun) a person who distracts from a salient point by using a false equivalency or a marginally related, tangential point.

Example: Whatabouts always say: “I don’t mind NFL players protesting injustice. But what about the troops who fight for our freedoms?”

The 2019 List of Things Black People Are Too Ashamed to Talk About

Michael Harriot

You’ve seen them before.

They are your friends, neighbors and coworkers. They lurk in the shadows bouncing back and forth on the balls of their feet like a skilled double-dutch dancer ready to hop between the twirling ropes and derail any conversation about race, police brutality, politics, or white supremacy. They are opinionated, they are relentless, and they are everywhere.

Whether it’s black-on-black crime or illegal immigration, whatabouts maintain that the negro retina is blind to certain facts that would disprove the existence of racism and officially certify America as a post-racial society. They actually believe black people refuse to acknowledge or admit we have shortcomings.

So, in an attempt at becoming more efficient, we’ve compiled this handy-dandy list of oft-used topics raised repeatedly by black conservatives, Facebook trolls and people who once fantasized about living in the apartment across from Ross, Chandler, and Joey. Feel free to bookmark this link and forward it whenever a random whatabout employs this technique in an argument to make themselves look smart or feel like they’re not a part of the problem.

https://www.theroot.com/the-2019-list-of-things-black-people-are-too-ashamed-to-1831439323

My ex-mother-in-law does the whatabout thing. Drove me insane. She jumped topics and at one point I thought.............I'm going to jail. She had just never had to present a side of any argument. Ever. Most debates are limited in scope. If you want to limit the whatabouts then you have to define the parameters and remove opining. The ignore feature works well, too.

 

[IM2]

IM2 What about a REAL "what about" that really shuts people up
(and not a fake what about):

What about the difference in media coverage between
* black people missing
* white girls missing

What about that?

The OP is about real whatabouts.

 

[emilynghiem]

IM2 What about a REAL "what about" that really shuts people up
(and not a fake what about):

What about the difference in media coverage between
* black people missing
* white girls missing

What about that?

The OP is about real whatabouts.

IM2 you mean fake whatabouts that distract from the REAL issues.

I just added a REAL whatabout that HIGHLIGHTS the REAL issue
that people try to skirt around. There IS racial bias in the media.

When people try to say it's equal by pointing out "distracting what abouts"
then I point out this REAL whatabout that is proven and everyone knows it!

Does this mean IM2 that the list of "whatabouts"
is just ANOTHER "whatabout". It is just used to distract as well.

 

[harmonica]

how come you use the word ''negro'' and not black/colored/etc?
some whites have a ''negro'' retina--yes?
what's the proper term nowadays, for ''black''? ''colored? negro?

 

[Penelope]

Blacks and Hispanics are more prone to maternal mortality as well. Also Blacks are more prone to die during childbirth.

The CDC now estimates that 700 to 900 new and expectant mothers die in the U.S. each year, and an additional 500,000 women experience life-threatening postpartum complications. More than half of these deaths and near deaths are from preventable causes, and a disproportionate number of the women suffering are black.

Put simply, for black women far more than for white women, giving birth can amount to a death sentence. African American women are three to four times more likely to die during or after delivery than are white women. According to the World Health Organization, their odds of surviving childbirth are comparable to those of women in countries such as Mexico and Uzbekistan, where significant proportions of the population live in poverty.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/magazine/magazine_article/america-is-failing-its-black-mothers/

They pick on Chicago because its in a Blue State, but ignore St. Louis because its in a red state on Fox news.

 

[Disir]

TBH, we aren't looking at homicides in Chicago but the number of shootings.

 

[gipper]

Blacks and Hispanics are more prone to maternal mortality as well. Also Blacks are more prone to die during childbirth.

The CDC now estimates that 700 to 900 new and expectant mothers die in the U.S. each year, and an additional 500,000 women experience life-threatening postpartum complications. More than half of these deaths and near deaths are from preventable causes, and a disproportionate number of the women suffering are black.

Put simply, for black women far more than for white women, giving birth can amount to a death sentence. African American women are three to four times more likely to die during or after delivery than are white women. According to the World Health Organization, their odds of surviving childbirth are comparable to those of women in countries such as Mexico and Uzbekistan, where significant proportions of the population live in poverty.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/magazine/magazine_article/america-is-failing-its-black-mothers/

They pick on Chicago because its in a Blue State, but ignore St. Louis because its in a red state on Fox news.

That’s not true. Chicago has eye popping number of shootings and killings, so it gets the media coverage and more attention.

 

[sparky]

I can Double-Dutch. Grew up doing it with the black girls.

An Equal Opportunity Gigolo ?

i just knew it!

~S~

 

[Disir]

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That's why.

 

[IM2]

IM2 What about a REAL "what about" that really shuts people up
(and not a fake what about):

What about the difference in media coverage between
* black people missing
* white girls missing

What about that?

The OP is about real whatabouts.

IM2 you mean fake whatabouts that distract from the REAL issues.

I just added a REAL whatabout that HIGHLIGHTS the REAL issue
that people try to skirt around. There IS racial bias in the media.

When people try to say it's equal by pointing out "distracting what abouts"
then I point out this REAL whatabout that is proven and everyone knows it!

Does this mean IM2 that the list of "whatabouts"
is just ANOTHER "whatabout". It is just used to distract as well.

What about the issues presented in the OP Emily. Whatabout like you say is used to distract from the issues and you just did so. As far as your post we know missing blacks go unreported. Just like blacks found hung today are always suicides. All of this is caused by a certain subset of people not who don't want to do the real difficult work that begins with a very tough assessment.

 

[IM2]

TBH, we aren't looking at homicides in Chicago but the number of shootings.

And still Chicago is ranked 9th in homicides. So apparently people are more deadly shooters elsewhere.

 

[emilynghiem]

IM2 What about a REAL "what about" that really shuts people up
(and not a fake what about):

What about the difference in media coverage between
* black people missing
* white girls missing

What about that?

The OP is about real whatabouts.

IM2 you mean fake whatabouts that distract from the REAL issues.

I just added a REAL whatabout that HIGHLIGHTS the REAL issue
that people try to skirt around. There IS racial bias in the media.

When people try to say it's equal by pointing out "distracting what abouts"
then I point out this REAL whatabout that is proven and everyone knows it!

Does this mean IM2 that the list of "whatabouts"
is just ANOTHER "whatabout". It is just used to distract as well.

What about the issues presented in the OP Emily. Whatabout like you say is used to distract from the issues and you just did so. As far as your post we know missing blacks go unreported. Just like blacks found hung today are always suicides. All of this is caused by a certain subset of people not who don't want to do the real difficult work that begins with a very tough assessment.

The common factor is we don't know each other personally.
When we do, then none of this stuff happens.

So that's where we can get "caught up" in generalizations (especially media)
that allow us to group people in huge collective chunks for convenience.

 

[gipper]

TBH, we aren't looking at homicides in Chicago but the number of shootings.

And still Chicago is ranked 9th in homicides. So apparently people are more deadly shooters elsewhere.

There does seem to be a common trait about US cities with high homicide rates.

 

[IM2]

IM2 What about a REAL "what about" that really shuts people up
(and not a fake what about):

What about the difference in media coverage between
* black people missing
* white girls missing

What about that?

The OP is about real whatabouts.

IM2 you mean fake whatabouts that distract from the REAL issues.

I just added a REAL whatabout that HIGHLIGHTS the REAL issue
that people try to skirt around. There IS racial bias in the media.

When people try to say it's equal by pointing out "distracting what abouts"
then I point out this REAL whatabout that is proven and everyone knows it!

Does this mean IM2 that the list of "whatabouts"
is just ANOTHER "whatabout". It is just used to distract as well.

What about the issues presented in the OP Emily. Whatabout like you say is used to distract from the issues and you just did so. As far as your post we know missing blacks go unreported. Just like blacks found hung today are always suicides. All of this is caused by a certain subset of people not who don't want to do the real difficult work that begins with a very tough assessment.

The common factor is we don't know each other personally.
When we do, then none of this stuff happens.

So that's where we can get "caught up" in generalizations (especially media)
that allow us to group people in huge collective chunks for convenience.

Stop blaming the media. We're talking about a 400 year old problem.

 

[IM2]

TBH, we aren't looking at homicides in Chicago but the number of shootings.

And still Chicago is ranked 9th in homicides. So apparently people are more deadly shooters elsewhere.

There does seem to be a common trait about US cities with high homicide rates.

View attachment 264252

This nation has a problem with high homicide rates. Tulsa is republican and 1/10 the size of Chicago. Funny how per capita is not used in this situation.

 

[Penelope]

Blacks and Hispanics are more prone to maternal mortality as well. Also Blacks are more prone to die during childbirth.

The CDC now estimates that 700 to 900 new and expectant mothers die in the U.S. each year, and an additional 500,000 women experience life-threatening postpartum complications. More than half of these deaths and near deaths are from preventable causes, and a disproportionate number of the women suffering are black.

Put simply, for black women far more than for white women, giving birth can amount to a death sentence. African American women are three to four times more likely to die during or after delivery than are white women. According to the World Health Organization, their odds of surviving childbirth are comparable to those of women in countries such as Mexico and Uzbekistan, where significant proportions of the population live in poverty.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/magazine/magazine_article/america-is-failing-its-black-mothers/

They pick on Chicago because its in a Blue State, but ignore St. Louis because its in a red state on Fox news.

That’s not true. Chicago has eye popping number of shootings and killings, so it gets the media coverage and more attention.

What’s the Homicide Capital of America? Murder Rates in U.S. Cities, Ranked

Also Chicago has about 9X more people than St. Louis.