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Comment by pjc50

16 hours ago

I'm not sure in the Platner case why the supposed progressive cause can't find someone without a Nazi tattoo.

I'm not sure what the alleged benefits of Platner are either. Mamdani has been amazing, but what is Platner for?

42 comments

pjc50

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nixon_why69  15 hours ago

It's not like it's a swastika, it was a skull and crossbones that turns out to have been used by the SS (I think?). I had no idea that particular image was nazi-related and I don't think most other people would have either. As far as "mistakes made by marines on shore leave" go it's pretty mild. Honestly his more recent scandals are more concerning as far as character.

Platner's upside is being a senator that's not from the student senate -> Hill staffer -> party insider pipeline. We're all pretty much sick of that character, he sounds much more authentic by comparison.

  • WickyNilliams  13 hours ago

    It's an extremely well known nazi symbol. Probably second behind the swastika itself. There's even that famous "are we the baddies" meme, which uses that symbol as a central pillar of the gag.

    • utdoctor  10 hours ago

      Not even just that, the main villain (Amon Göth) in Schindler’s List (which won Best Picture) has it on his uniform throughout the film.

      It’s not like it’s some obscure icon.

      10 replies →

    • cogman10  10 hours ago

      He may have known, he may not have known. I think he likely knew much earlier than he reported.

      All that said, he was very online and very much not an online Nazi. To me that matters a lot more than a bad tattoo.

      There'd simply be a lot worse comments from his reddit history if his beliefs aligned with his tattoo. That, to me, is why it just doesn't matter.

    • thisislife2  8 hours ago

      Not an American here, but I too never knew the skull and bones symbol is somehow associated with the Nazis. So I would disagree that it is "extremely well known".

      1 reply →

  • woodruffw  1 hour ago

    I would expect anybody who graduated with a 4 year degree in the US to be able to recognize a totenkopf. It's probably the third most well-known Nazi symbol, and is almost certainly present in any textbook or museum about WWII (besides being a symbol is fictional media about Nazi Germany).

    However, I think this is beside the point. The more relevant questions are (1) whether Platner knew what it was, and (2) whether an informed voter should want someone who doesn't know the meaning of the things they get tattooed on their body. Authentic or not, (2) demonstrates a lack of good judgement to me.

    (Separately, having been to that part of part of Slavic southern Europe, it is inconceivable that any tattoo parlor that would give you a totenkopf tattoo is not plastered in other Nazi and far-right iconography. You would need to actively look past all of the other Nazi stuff and assume that the skull is the one thing that doesn't have some additional meaning.)

  • JumpCrisscross  14 hours ago

    > no idea that particular image was nazi-related and I don't think most other people would have either

    He knew what it was [1]. That doesn't mean he's unelectable in 2026.

    [1] https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/05/politics/graham-platner-cant-...

    • nixon_why69  14 hours ago

      I'm sure he figured it out at some point and should have had it covered up sooner, but I doubt he knew what it was when he got it.

      Honestly, I'd be more concerned with someone who knows too much Nazi minutiae rather than too little.

      EDIT: reading the CNN story, I'm actually less convinced, this is all coming from a conservative activist ex-girlfriend. Its a really obscure symbol and then there's this quote:

      "Platner argued that he had the tattoo for 17 years without anyone raising concerns about Nazi symbolism, noting that he received a State Department security clearance, reenlisted in the Army after being screened for gang and hate-related tattoos, and regularly appeared shirtless around family members, including Jewish relatives."

      6 replies →

    • viking123  8 hours ago

      I think people are really past the point of caring. The limousine liberals of course make a fuss but sitting on the high horse has not really served democrats that well, just taking L after L. And the sitting president is Epstein-Mossad pedofile and huge number still stand behind him without any shame.

throwawayqqq11  10 hours ago

Plathner is authentic and able to see and correct his mistakes (tattoo), two important properties that candidates from the una-party lack. He is certainly not perfect, but apparently better than the rest.

bijowo1676  3 hours ago

What is the alleged downside of Platner as a politician?

All I see discussed is tatto which is irrelevant and does not reflect his policy

Just pure hysteria from neurotic people

JumpCrisscross  14 hours ago

> what is Platner for?

Not being MAGA. I have some respect for Susan Collins. But this nonsense where a tattoo and infidelity should be disqualifying on one side while the President, popularly elected this time, sleeps with porn stars and endorses anti-Semites and KKK adjacents, is unsustainable. If we need a dude with a Nazi tattoo to win Maine, I guess I prefer to be pissed off and winning.