The whole “legacy admissions are bad, therefore we should keep affirmative action” argument that I’ve seen a few times over the past couple days seems like pretty clear-cut whataboutism. I’m with you, I think neither should exist.
I could see some valid argument being made for affirmative action by parental income rather than by race, but to suggest that the children of a black businessperson in New York City are disadvantaged in a way that the children of a white coal miner in rural West Virginia aren’t (at least in terms of stuff relevant to admissions) is absurd to me.