PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — His U.S. Senate campaign under fire, Maine Democrat Graham Platner said Wednesday that a tattoo on his chest has been covered to no longer reflect an image widely recognized as a Nazi symbol.
The first-time political candidate said he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007, when he was in his 20s and in the Marine Corps. It happened during a night of drinking while he was on leave in Croatia, he said, adding he was unaware until recently that the image has been associated with Nazi police.
If you’re claiming a strong ideological stance, ie being a communist, to be simultaneously claiming ignorance of having a tattoo from one of the largest killers of communists, and having served in the military of the runner-up, makes it hard to trust him or his political understanding.
it’s like a year before the election, surely someone else is able to run.
Yeah this is my thought as well. I hope I’m wrong about it though… Even if he got educated after the tattoo, at some point you’d think he’d look it up. Especially if he’s apparently becoming a communist.
What? Mao was the largest by far. It’s not even close. It goes Mao (60 million), then Hitler as the runner-up (27 million), then Stalin (probably about 20 million).
The Western world sure as hell is not friendly to innocent people of whatever ideological stripe but yes in particular 20th-century Communists, but we’re not even scratching the surface of what they do to each other. We’re like little leaguers at an MLB game.
As soon as you find out a guy has a nazi tattoo you decide it’s time to support the guy 🤔 I mean I knew you were a social democrat but this is really on the nose
As soon as a ton of people from all over our corrupted media landscape seized upon some ways they could talk about this person, who is not a Nazi, in a way that really makes it sound like he is a Nazi and that’s the most important thing to talk about about him, then yes, I concluded that he’s definitely an enemy of the establishment which makes him at least okay in my book. The fact that Chuck Schumer doesn’t like him is a bonus too.
Hey, what do you think of Leon Trotsky? I am just curious.
Hey, what do you think of Leon Trotsky? I am just curious.
He was kind of a counter-revolutionary asshole who also happened to be in charge of killing a lot of anarchists, not a fan.
In the countries of the Mediterranean Sea, in the Balkans, in Italy, in Spain, in addition to the so-called Southern type, which is characterized by a combination of lazy shiftlessness and explosive irascibility, one meets cold natures, in whom phlegm is combined with stubbornness and slyness. The first type prevails ; the second augments it as an exception. It would seem as if each national group is doled out its due share of basic character elements, yet these are less happily distributed under the southern than under the northern sun. But we must not venture too far afield into the unprofitable region of national metaphysics." – Leon Trotsky in his biography of Stalin
who also happened to be in charge of killing a lot of anarchists
Tell me more
He was the war commissar during the civil war, effectively commander-in-chief of the red army, so he’s kind of responsible for what happened to the anarchist factions in it.
On some level he was going with a party line, but based on how the guy operated and what he was saying I don’t think that was much of a deviation from his actual beliefs.
I think it’s also telling how many former Trotskyists in the US pivoted to being neocon warmongers.
He was the war commissar during the civil war, effectively commander-in-chief of the red army, so he’s kind of responsible for what happened to the anarchist factions in it.
Oh God… this looks interesting but I have not the time to dive into it currently and my knowledge of this part of Russian history is basically 0. At a cursory reading, it kind of looks like the Russian Revolution happened, then elections, then the Bolsheviks lost the elections and announced that they were going to shoot anyone who contested their right to hold power no matter what because I say so, and so then there was more war, and I guess Trotsky was… running the Red Army during that time? Shooting anarchists, because they… wanted elections? Or something? That doesn’t sound right. I will read more when I have time.
I mean, if Trotsky was the guy who was killing the people who wanted elections, and only decades later turned around and tried to say that raw exercise of power with no attempt at a mandate was not what Communism is supposed to be about (which was what originally made me like him, and also what Stalin eventually killed him for more or less I think, because it made him “counterrevolutionary”)… you may have found a reason to criticize him that I get can behind. Of course the idea that he was shooting anarchists because they supported the Constituent Assembly sounds kind of out of character like I may have misunderstood something.
It’s too many layers.
I think it’s also telling how many former Trotskyists in the US pivoted to being neocon warmongers.
Ah yes, those famous neocon Trotsky fans. Clearly, your grasp of geopolitics is unparalleled, and not at all based on a fuzzy team sports based value system totally unmoored from reality. Which Trotskyist neocon was your favorite?
He still had it made. A leopard does not loose its spots.
Good thing people aren’t leopards…
A skull and crossbones sounds like a symbol that was co-opted by nazis but not an explicit nazi symbol. I didn’t know that connection either. Without seeing it, that sounds more like a pirate symbol, or poison.
I agree, the description is vague and the symbol was most assuredly was co-opted by Nazis (past and present) just like the swastika, blackletter typeface, Nordic symbols, and a whole bunch of other stuff of historical significance.
But, accidental or not, this seems a pretty cut and dry comparison, art-wise.
And a quick search of the historical context
Depending on the person, id give it the benefit of doubt for a case of “You were in the wrong tattoo parlor and didn’t recognize the more subtle nazi and/or supremacist dogwhistles”.
Politicians are blatantly exempt from any benefit of doubt. They have PR teams for this shit, and couldn’t be bothered to utilize that.
If your PR team is well versed on the minutia of Nazi symbology, they are either expensive or they are Nazis.
Establishment candidates have more support from the national party than progressive primary candidates running for the chance to challenge an incumbent. I’d give the latter more benefit of the doubt, especially when they express remorse and regret.
he was unaware until recently that the image has been associated with Nazi police. … while his campaign initially said he would remove the tattoo, he chose to cover it up with another tattoo due to the limited options where he lives in rural Maine. … “Going to a tattoo removal place is going to take a while,” he said. “I wanted this thing off my body.”
The pirate skull and crossbones is different from the one used by nazis. The pirate one has the skull facing forward and long bones behind. The nazi one is facing a bit to the side and only the snobby joint parts of the bones behind are showing.
Kind of like how the US and other countries have eagle iconography that is visually distinct from the nazi eagle iconography.
Yes, he did have the nazi one but his explanation of it being a mistake sounds reasonable. Nobody is perfect, we can admit mistakes and change for the better.
Yes, but the bigger question is, if it was a mistake, why didn’t he remedy it in the part 20 years since? He apparently did learn it was a Tottenkopf at some point, if the reports that he has told others that exact thing are to be believed; why wait to cover it up until he was running for office?
Also, he had it covered with a Norse wolf, which, Nazis appropriate Norse imagery to cover up their most unsavory bullshit is a whole goddamn thing…
adding he was unaware until recently that the image has been associated with Nazi police.
Could he be lying and really a secret nazi pretending to be a decent person? Sure. Is a norse wolf a sketchy choice. Yes.
But people not knowing things and then doing something when they find out is reasonable.
norse symbols, runes, iconography, even thier gods are coopted by nazis.
He knew about it WAAAAY before this year. He only did something about it now because it was interfering with his political ambitions.
He’s a disingenuous Nazi twat, and anyone still defending him at this point should really reconsider calling themselves antifascist.
That newly presented information does make it look like he was not honest about the timing of when he found out.
I do agree with you. But on the other hand…
people
notknowing things and then doing something when theyfind outget caught is… ?
He didn’t even wait until he was running for office, he waited until the photo leaked. He never would have disclosed it.
Good to know, thanks
I have a lot more respect for someone that does something wrong and then admits and fixes it than someone who does something wrong and then does nothing but deny and deflect.
Same here. He was very public about his mistake. I would have been tempted to hide in shame. He came forward to show us how to be responsible even when you’re in the wrong
And to me the whole story makes sense. I didn’t realize his tattoo was a Nazi tat. He got it in Croatia (I think) while he was on a MEU, just a dumb Marine who presumably saw a picture and was like “That looks neat,” in the same way I said “That looks neat” when someone linked the Wikipedia to the Nazi unit. The Nazis really had a monopoly on cool symbols, it really sucks.
His platform isn’t good…
Nazi war criminal who loved murdering brown people so much he did it privately after three military tours weren’t enough for his bloodlust is now running as a woke liberal on a platform of paying soldiers more for murdering brown people.
Pressing issues for liberals right there.
Division bot
Shitlib bot
Scraping a post from 7 months ago to lob a shitcanned insult? Yea? Is that normal behavior for you or like, are you an actual bot searching the word “bot”?
I’m a bot?!?! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
There is no way a tattoo that size is not intentional. He knew exactly what he was putting on his body.
covering your nazi tattoo only when you get called out for it but not apologizing for it or the homophobic and racist remarks is pretty much the biggest red flag imaginable.
just like Biden Platner being in the Democrat party makes this acceptable
if Platner would have been a Republican headline would be all about his racist past
Sure. That’s why Pete Hegseth was chased out of public life in shame as soon as everyone found out about his Deus Vult tattoos.
Mainstream media isn’t soft pedaling this because they like Democrats, they’re doing it because they like Nazis. Nazis have already coopted the Republicans, and our billionaire overlords would like nothing more than to see them coopt the Democrats too.
Well maybe the Repubelicans shouldn’t be doing Nazi things then if they don’t want to be called Nazis.
Mama always says Nazi is as Nazi does.
Get back on your meds
If he were republican he’d either openly admit to it and boast about it or he’d deflect and deny it. Elon did exactly that with his Nazi salute. He still hasn’t admitted that was shitty. What you see from Platner is what so many right wing bigots couldn’t bring themselves to do and likely drives them further into their ignorant hateful positions. He admitted it was a mistake and he took actions to rectify it. Everyone does dumb shit when they’re younger. Owning the mistake and growing from it makes you a better person. Doubling down on it and denying it makes you shitty. Don’t be shitty.
That’s great and all, but you shouldn’t elect Hitler shortly after he killed Hitler. It’s a great first step, but treat it as such.
Jesus fucking Christ is nothing good enough for your purity tests!?
purity tests
How common are SS tattoos in the USA that this is considered a purity test? I knew things are bad down there, but JFC
Observe our military, large parts of the south, northwest, and isolated rural corners of New England
No wonder the country is so fucked if you’re at the “we can’t judge, because who among us hasn’t had a Nazi tattoo at one point?” stage.
Ever seen American History X?
Everyone does dumb shit when they’re younger.
Sure, and you can’t come back from some of it.
He admitted it was a mistake and he took actions to rectify it. Everyone does dumb shit when they’re younger.
He had this tattoo for SEVENTEEN YEARS. How do you go that long without realizing it’s a totenkopf?
Because most people don’t discuss Nazi symbolism on a regular basis?
You’re telling me this Marine never watched a WW2 documentary?
Hes a veteran who made lists of obscure battles for fun, if you believe he had no idea the meaning of it you’re dillusional or a bot. He has in the past refered to it by the german name the Nazis gave it. And since Trumps first terms many many people have looked more into that imagery since it’s becoming more common, so that’s not even a strong claim, they do discuss it now more than any time since the war itself.
deleted by creator
Lol what?
Disappointing that the linked article doesn’t include a photo of the tattoo. When a report lacks important relevant information, the reader has a choice to take it for its word or seek out supporting facts. So, when I searched for Planter Nazi Tattoo, there are plenty of articles taking the opposing tone - in that he knew what the tattoo was.
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/10/21/2349761/-Not-one-diary-or-mention-about-Graham-Platner-s-Nazi-tattoo-Really This sounds more like he has been aware of what the tattoo represented and he hasn’t really cared about it until now. Which I personally find much more believable. Good on him for getting it covered up but, ehhh. Maybe don’t believe every word a politician exhales.
I don’t know this person or anything about Maine. I don’t really care either. But journalism needs to be held accountable. I expect more from PBS / AP.
I’m tired, boss
Some people are very very angry that Graham Platner is a communist because they found deleted Reddit posts from years and years ago and that’s why they can’t support him and you shouldn’t either
Some people are very very angry that Graham Platner
is a secret Nazihas a death’s head tattoo even though he’s very very clearly not a secret Nazi. This whole endeavor is honestly a textbook example of Control the Conversation. We’re not talking about whether Graham is a Nazi (the “frame”), because he’s clearly not. We’re talking about the “next argument” – whether he covered it up and why, whether it might indicate that he’s another Simena, all that kind of stuff.Honestly, to me, the fact that Chuck Schumer, lemmy.ml, and the mainstream media are all falling over themselves to manufacture little scandals about this guy is the strongest indication so far that he is probably the real deal. Personally, I don’t give a shit whether Jewish Insider found it in their heart for some random reason to start reporting something from some anonymous source who swears he’s
actually a Naziactually we can’t make that argument, but we are going to say he knew this was a Totenkamf he got accidentally and we can kind of imply that other thing. Even though detailed analysis of his not-intended-for-public-viewing Reddit communications seems to show the exact opposite. And of course we can do other equally honest things like grabbing one Facebook photo from right before Graham told the 88 guy to fuck off and pretend it means something. And of course we’re performatively freaking out, to a different audience, about how he’s a secret communist instead, and that’s why we can’t vote for him.I’m so so tired boss. I hate that our social media is this way. I actually took some screenshots of the comments here before the army of “Graham is a problem” people showed up, and it was all normal. No one was saying something that was a little off the main point of what they were implying, no one was vigorously responding over and over to anyone who disagreed with them, none of that. It was just people, most of whom actually seemed like they took the take “well he’s clearly not a Nazi and he is talking about medicare for all and other things we really badly need so what they fuck even is this.”
I’m tired
Whether he is or isn’t is irrelevant, it’s the image of him portrayed by media that counts. The medium is the message. You should really look into Vladislav Surkov, the architect of Russia’s post-truth society, which the Trump admin imported to the states and is now common practice. The guy is clearly an idiot, maybe he means well but again that is irrelevant. This has Republican hit job written all over it from the get-go, I wouldn’t be surprised if Collins team found out about the tattoo (before he even decided to run) and directed “political technicians” to infiltrate his social circle and subtly nudge this guy to run, consequently becoming an unwitting accomplice to sabotage a genuine left-wing movement.
I may be reading too much into it, but consider “His former political director said he “knows damn well” what the tattoo signifies.”.
I understand you’ve invested a lot of emotional energy into this guy. It’s best to disconnect those feelings from things you can’t change, if he wins he wins, if not that’s ok, learn and grow from the experience.
The guy is clearly an idiot, maybe he means well but again that is irrelevant.
This part, I halfway agree with. I don’t think he’s an idiot, but I do think that him coming as an outsider and maybe not being super-skilled at politics and policy might hurt his ability to be effective. It’s pretty much the only downside that I see to him. But then, counterbalance that against the upside that there is something about him that makes the establishment start making up all kinds of malicious innuendos about him, and the fact that no one he’s running against even seems to mean well, and it winds up that for now at least I am fine supporting him.
I understand you’ve invested a lot of emotional energy into this guy.
No idea what you’re talking about. I am emotional about the truth, and defending our systems of media against malicious interference. I don’t even know if this guy is a good idea or not, I just know that these particular smears against him are very clearly a bunch of shit, and that’s the part that’s got me heated up about it.
Ahh gotcha, well I recommend reading some Baudrillard, you’re angry over something that doesn’t exist anymore (if it ever did). Truth is all just relative now, shifting like sand in the desert.
Truth is all just relative now, shifting like sand in the desert.
Even in the realm of science, there is no such thing as absolute truth, at least not in any capacity humans can ever understand. We have theories based on empirical evidence which we accept as “truth” because that is as good as we can get, some things have more truth than others, which closes the gap on things we have to take as self-evident and better align with understanding and reality.
Refer to Agrippa’s trilemma: it is theoretically impossible to prove any truth.
“Your lies have already poisoned the world!”
“Then I shall write another book,” said Didactylos calmly. “Think how it will look-proud Didactylos swayed by the arguments of the Omnians. A full retraction. Hmm? In fact, with your permission, lord-I know you have much to do, looting and burning and so on-I will retire to my barrel right away and start work on it. A universe of spheres. Balls spinning through space. Hmm. Yes. With your permission, lord, I will write you more balls than you can imagine…”
The old philosopher turned and, very slowly, walked towards the exit.
Vorbis watched him go.
Brutha saw him half-raise his hand to signal the guards, and then lower it again.
Vorbis turned to the Tyrant.
“So much for your-” he began.
“Coo-ee!” The lantern sailed through the doorway and shattered against Vorbis’s skull. “Nevertheless… the Turtle Moves!”
Vorbis leapt to his feet.
“I-” he screamed, and then got a grip on himself. He waved irritably at a couple of the guards. “I want him caught. Now. And… Brutha?”
Brutha could hardly hear him for the rush of blood in his ears. Didactylos had been a better thinker than he’d thought.
Truth is all just relative now, shifting like sand in the desert.
The truth is truth. It’s not relative, it’s not subjective, it’s not ideological, and it’s not partisan - it just is.
Not sure you’re responding to the right person. Maybe get some sleep, boss.
Definitely I am responding to the right person.
It’s not really for you. It’s for the people who read your comment and then had the same reaction I did. Apparently there are quite a few of them.
My statement was in regard to PBS not including a photo of the thing the story is about.
Was it, though? Was it?
This sounds more like he has been aware of what the tattoo represented and he hasn’t really cared about it until now. Which I personally find much more believable. Good on him for getting it covered up but, ehhh. Maybe don’t believe every word a politician exhales.
Yes. It was. But you go ahead and cherry-pick the content that fits your narrative. I’m just trying to tell you you’re wasting your time responding to me.
Thank you for your feedback lol
Considering all the BS with our current government I’m going to assume any and all baseless smear campaigns means it’s in my best interest to vote for that person. This guy is probably a radical progressive who believes we should tax the rich.
This tattoo was the Totenkopf? Jesus Christ what is with this article? They described as skull and crossbones. As if making you think it’s a pirate symbol. Fuck no. The Totenkopf has always been associated with the Nazis. That’s a straight-up Nazi symbol that they wore while genociding people. I don’t believe for a fucking second this thing was an accident.
I can’t say I’m shocked that a PBS article is whitewashing this kind of shit. Cuz they’ve been whitewashing fascist shit for a while now. But God damn.
Honestly, if I saw that, I wouldn’t think “nazi”, can’t blame him if he saw it on a drunken night and didn’t think much of it.
When the media stated we live in a “post-truth” society, they meant it. Trump admin imported the Russian propaganda tactics of Surkov. This is our reality now, nothing is true or false, it’s all just information.
His former political director said he “knows damn well” what the tattoo signifies.
The Totenkopf has always been associated with the Nazis.
To be pedantic, it actually predates Nazis by quite a bit, it was in use during the Empire - but by modern-day standards it’s absolutely associated with nazis.
So did the swastika… Doesn’t really matter does it
He was a 20-some year old marine; I absolutely believe he didn’t know what the tattoo actually was, and just thought it was cool.
I sure as hell didn’t know what it was when I was 20. I think I only learned about all this shit when I was teaching a student who had a confederate flag phone wallpaper (not in the US, btw), and I did a “crash course” in other to look for that are subtle symbols, like 1488 and lesser-known Nazi/white supremacy logos.
Some of them are super generic, too, like the one that looks like two parallel square-ish lighting bolts, or the square-looking ankh thing. (Someone linked a list above, of symbols banned in Germany).
Seems more likely that the establishment is trying to smear a progressive candidate than that a progressive candidate is secretly a neo Nazi.
Believe people when they tell you who they are the first time.
⊞
Edit: fucking nazi
Do you think it’s possible that he didn’t know it was a Nazi symbol?
Whatever. Still a fucking dickhead.
Back of the line, Nazi boy.
Oh, well, crisis averted then. It’s all good, now. Carry on, everyone.
