The politics of ‘whataboutery’: The problem of trauma trumping the political in conflictual societies

Little, Adrian; Rogers, Juliet

doi:10.1177/1369148116681717

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Conspiracy theories and fantastical misinformation abound (Naeem, Bhatti, & Khan, 2020) and unbelievably, even face masks have been politicized (Rutledge, 2020) to the point where infection control takes a back seat to ideological signalling. In Weiss's “digital thunderdome” https://www.bariweiss.com/resignation-letter), endless “whataboutery” (Little & Rogers, 2017), confected controversy and performative outrage are heaped one upon the other in an attempt to dominate discourse through appeals to emotion at the expense of critical thought.…”

Section: Silencing Inside the ‘Digital Thunderdome’mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Culture Wars, nursing, and academic freedom

Darbyshire¹,

Patrick

Williams

et al. 2020

Journal of Advanced Nursing

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The Culture Wars, nursing, and academic freedom 1 | What did nur sing do in the great culture war s? Orthodoxy whether of the right or of the left is the graveyard of creativity.-Chinua Achebe, 'Anthills of the Savannah' (Achebe, 1988, p. 100). An iconic 1915 propaganda poster shows a little girl asking her guiltridden father, who clearly has not enlisted, "Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?". Would today's poster ask every nurse and nursing academic, "What did YOU do in the great Culture Wars?". Culture Wars between social groups for moral and epistemological ascendency pose threats to academia and human progress. In this study we outline some of these threats and their potential impact upon nursing and nurse education. In times of increasing disharmony and division, we seek not to stoke, but to help end the Culture Wars and to reclaim scholarly dialogue. In restating the importance of academic freedom, reason, and evidence, we are acutely aware that the Culture War's trenches show the damage already wrought. The intellectual life of much of the world is a quasi-wasteland, razed by the narcissistic individualism of 'identity politics' that in the late Fisher's (2013) phrase: "is driven by a priest's desire to excommunicate and condemn, an academic-pedant's desire to be the first to be seen to spot a mistake, and a hipster's desire to be one of the in-crowd". 2 | D efen ding ac ademic freedom in nur sing Freedom of thought and expression are cornerstones of the academy and central to nursing scholarship. Nurses have a professional responsibility to raise, discuss, and challenge new and existing ideas (UNESCO, 2017): "without constriction by prescribed doctrines", yet creeping restrictions are a growing concern. Academic freedom has never been absolute and clear limitations rightly exist (Joint Committee on Human Rights, 2018). While academic freedom is largely respected and valued, conflicts with popular social attitudes are not merely hypothetical. Nursing has never been 'apolitical' and many agree that the profession should become more visible and prominent in public discourse and affairs. When "facts become secondary to feeling; expertise and vision to ersatz emotional connection" (Smith, 2016), it is even more important that nurses can freely explore tensions between truth and ideology without fear of reprisal. Furthermore, it is unacceptable that 'political nurses' must hold only prescribed beliefs, and that either 'right wing' or 'left wing' nurses

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Section: Silencing Inside the ‘Digital Thunderdome’mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Culture Wars, nursing, and academic freedom

Darbyshire¹,

Patrick

Williams

et al. 2020

Journal of Advanced Nursing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…As is the case with 'whataboutery', the existence of one narrative of victimhood denies the existence of the other, or, in Jessica Benjamin's terms, creates a context in which 'only one can live' (Benjamin, 2016;Little and Rogers, 2017). Whataboutery therefore entails a denial of the victim and the expression of their voice and agency (Cohen, 2001).…”

Section: Victimhood and Hierarchies Of Truthmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Let Me Tell You’: Transitional Justice, Victimhood and Dealing with a Contested Past

Lawther

2020

Social & Legal Studies

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This article explores the intersection between the politics and construction of victimhood in transitional societies and the use of truth recovery as a platform for the creation of hierarchies of truth. It explores how, in a context of contested victimhood and an unresolved past, the ‘political currency’ of victimhood may lead to the domination and embellishment of certain voices and narratives and the concurrent silencing of others. As this article will then demonstrate, when applied to the debate on truth recovery, the capturing of victims’ voice and agency can manifest in a damaging ‘truth as trumps’ dynamic and recourse to ‘whataboutery’ in which one call for truth or the recovery of truth as significant to one side of the community is countered by that of a more ‘significant’ or more ‘important’ truth on the part of the other. The paper argues for the inculcation of a culture political generosity in transitional contexts as a way to begin to ameliorate these challenges.

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“…The idea that an entire nation could be reconciled through the narratives of traumatized individuals-or indeed that they could overcome their trauma-was fallacious. 31 The connection between truth and reconciliation is not integral, and the idea that the recognition of truths would help to reconcile broader society beyond the victims of wrongdoing and perpetrators was wide of the mark. In effect, it misrecognized the enduring and potentially ineradicable nature of conflict after truth processes have taken place.…”

Section: Indigenous-settler Relations In Australia In Comparative Permentioning

confidence: 99%

The Politics of Makarrata: Understanding Indigenous–Settler Relations in Australia

Little

2019

Political Theory

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In May 2017, the Uluru Statement from the Heart was released, providing an Indigenous response to debates on recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian constitution. The document advocated for a “Makarrata Commission,” which would oversee truth telling and agreement making. This essay analyzes the concept of Makarrata as it has emerged in the context of Indigenous–settler relations in Australia and argues for a deeper engagement of non-Indigenous people with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander concepts and practices. By extending some of the methods of comparative political theory to incorporate endogenous as well as exogenous comparisons, the article demonstrates the ways in which Makarrata is likely to contribute to continuing contestation and disagreement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. While the Uluru Statement marked a significant point in the Australian recognition debate because it reflected a relatively consensual Indigenous message articulated on its own terms, the article suggests that “Makarrata” must not be appropriated into a benign settler discourse of reconciliation, if the concept’s potential to inform substantive change in Indigenous–settler relations is to be realized.

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The politics of ‘whataboutery’: The problem of trauma trumping the political in conflictual societies

Cited by 20 publications

References 45 publications

The Culture Wars, nursing, and academic freedom

The Culture Wars, nursing, and academic freedom

‘Let Me Tell You’: Transitional Justice, Victimhood and Dealing with a Contested Past

The Politics of Makarrata: Understanding Indigenous–Settler Relations in Australia

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