system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What are “whataboutisms”?

Edit: thank you guys for the quick response! ♥️♥️
gpt
It's also worth noting that in this situation, whataboutisms are inappropriate or false equivalencies, meant to push the person arguing a point away from this point and towards another one. This removes energy and focus away from the thesis and towards a secondary claim that often has little or nothing to do with what is being originally argued.

A good example would be something like police brutality. Conversations about police brutality and it's disproportionate use against Native and Black people are often met with "what about black on black crime". So instead of actually talking about police brutality, the conversation is now about black people, and the original person now has to defend and address black crime. It's a derailing tactic.