Whataboutitis: the new malaise infecting social media
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but
there is a new malaise infecting the netherworld of social media. I like to
call it ‘whataboutitis’. Others prefer the term ‘whataboutery’. But whatever
you choose to term it, this is an insidious disease that is steadily infecting
the universe of our social
discourse. For the moment, it is
restricted to the virtual world but like all things trite and less than
wonderful, it will soon be an IRL (that’s ‘In Real Life’ for all you newbies
out there) phenomenon as well.
So, what is ‘whataboutitis’? Well,
this is basically how it plays out. You express an opinion about a political
party/current event/celebrity/politician. And no matter what the merit of the
opinion itself, you are instantly called out because you omitted to express an
opinion about that ‘other’ political party/ current event/ celebrity/
politician. That omission, apparently, makes the opinion you did voice
completely and utterly invalid – pretty much useless, in fact. (Never mind if
you did, in fact, have your say about that ‘other’ matter; if people don’t
remember it, it doesn’t really count. Not on social media, anyway.)
The classic example is that of the
2002 Gujarat riots. You only have to mention them on social media and you will
instantly have to do battle with an army of ‘whatabouters’. What about the 1984
anti-Sikh riots, then, eh? Weren’t they as much a case of genocide? Did anybody
apologise for them? Did anyone go to jail? Isn’t Rajiv Gandhi as guilty as
Narendra Modi? Why are you just picking on NaMo, then? Are you ‘paid media’? Or
just ‘sickular’?
And what about Godhra? Did you shed
any tears for the people who were killed on that train? Did their deaths not
count? Wasn’t that a pre-planned conspiracy? What about the Nellie massacre? Do
you even know how many died in that? Do they not matter because they happened
in faraway Assam? What about the Muzaffarnagar riots? Isn’t Akhilesh Yadav
guilty for letting them happen?
The questions just pile on, as
‘whataboutitis’ flares into a virtual epidemic, with nobody stopping to think
just how distasteful and vile it is to play partisan politics over the bodies
of dead Indians, no matter what their religion (or political affiliation) may
have been.
But this ‘whataboutitis’ is not
restricted to riots, either. It extends to most discussions about feminism,
sexism and women empowerment as well. It is impossible to stand up for any one
woman without being harangued about how you didn’t stand up for that other
woman. (The honest truth is that you did. But public memory is even shorter on
social media.)
In my own experience, every single
time I have tweeted against an instance of sexism against a woman in public
life, the ‘whatabouters’ have struck back with nary a care for the truth. When
I attacked Sanjay Nirupam for making sexist comments about Smriti Irani on
television, the Congress brigade hit back at me with squeals of ‘whataboutery’.
‘What about Narendra Modi’s sexist comment about Sunanda Pushkar? How come you
weren’t outraged about that as well?’ (Well, actually I was, and I tweeted
about that too, thanks for asking.) On the other hand, whenever I comment on
Modi’s sexist remarks, the right wing brigade gets its knickers in a twist
about the fact that I hadn’t defended Smriti Irani against the smarmy comments
of Sanjay Nirupam. (Er, I wrote an entire column about it; you can Google
search it once you’ve stopped frothing at the mouth.) And what about the fact
that I hadn’t defended Sushma Swaraj when she was derided as a ‘nachaniya’ by
such Congress leaders as Digvijay Singh. (Only, of course, I did.)
Call Tarun Tejpal out on his Alchemy
Of A Liar and you are asked why you didn’t condemn Asaram Bapu in the same
breath. Express your anguish about the Delhi gang rape victim and you will get
‘what about all the tribal women who get raped’. Comment on how long Sourav
Ganguly took to finally retire and the ‘What about Sachin?’ question will
inevitably follow. Stand up for Shah Rukh Khan’s right to air his views about
what it means to be Muslim in India and the ‘whatabouters’ will bring up Salman
Khan and his celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi (now, isn’t that what ‘true
secularism’ is about?).
Complain about right-wing trolls who
call you names and threaten to rape you and you will be asked ‘What about the
Congress trolls who do the same thing?’ (Answer: please name and shame them
all; report spam; get their accounts blocked. I have zero tolerance for abusive
people on social media, no matter what their political affiliation. The reason
I outrage about the Sanghis is because they are the ones trolling me. The
moment Congress handles do the same, I will call them out as well.) Say you
like pizza and people will want to know what’s wrong with chaat. Talk about
loving Delhi and people will want to know what’s wrong with Mumbai. Praise
Peter and you will be asked ‘But what about Paul’?
I have to admit that despite my best
efforts to Stay Calm and Carry On, this epidemic of ‘whataboutitis’ is beginning
to get me down. I am seriously thinking of putting a disclaimer on my social
media feed: Please feel free to assume that I am outraged about everything,
unless I declare otherwise.
Do you think it would serve as an
antidote to ‘whataboutitis’? Well, a girl can dream, but I kind of suspect that
this nightmare has only just about started.
Seema Goswami, HTBR 131208
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