Bangladeshi Politicians, the People, and Whataboutism

Abstract

Whataboutism is a logical fallacy used to discredit an opponent’s claim by deflecting it to something else. In the present world the practice of whataboutism, an old phenomenon, spreads like a disease and it is the disease that is contagious. In the present world, whataboutism sees its distinct manifestation in the speech of Donald Trump, the present American president, and many others. To cut the ground from under the feet of their opponents, some Bangladeshi politicians, like Trump, use this whataboutism without paying proper attention to the effects of it in the long course of the country which is still fighting its way to an emerging social democratic state with a steady economy. This practice in Bangladesh, like many other countries, lets the politicians go loose on many happenings which they are accused of. Consequently, the condition of good governance in Bangladesh becomes vulnerable. Bangladesh, the country which already embarked on the highway of middle-earning economy in the world, has already been decelerated for such a political standpoint. These politicians always look to blame their opponents to convince the people that whatever they have done is of almost no harm in comparison with what somebody else has done. In this article, I intend to analyze, through a case study and analytical induction, the relationship between the Bangladeshi people and politicians who deflect real facts, and the impacts of whataboutism which results in impediments in the progress towards the social democracy envisioned before and during the inception of the Liberation War of 1971.