pelespirit comments on Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner says nobody ever told him the large SS-Totenkopf tattoo he's had on his chest for the last 18 years is a Nazi symbol

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 32 points 1 year ago (4 children)

This is a complicated story. Reddit somehow released his username and tied it to him? No one has said how they were tied together.

The Washington Post reported Platner downplayed concerns about sexual assault in posts from 2013. CNN reported he labeled all White Americans in rural areas as racist and stupid in one 2020 post and said all cops are “bastards” in a 2021 post. The Bangor Daily News reported Platner asked why Black people “don’t tip” in a 2013 post.

Now he has a nazi tattoo that he didn't know was a nazi tattoo. That may be true? I don't know. He's going up against Susan Collins. I can't imagine the DNC wanting her over anyone.

permalink

fedilink

source

hideshow 4 child comments

[–] UniversalBasicJustice@lemmy.dbzer0.com 32 points 1 year ago

I think bookending the two recent quotes with the obviously more problematic quotes from 8 years prior is intentional. A lot can change in 8 years, especially when you transition from military to civilian life. I think the ACAB sentiment he expressed in 2021 shows growth.

(Anecdotal bias incoming) The comment on rural white Americans, while inflammatory and unhelpful, isn't all that off-base in my experience. If you are born into, grow up in and stay within the same rural 10 mile radius your entire life you tend to lack perspective to say the least. Growing up in a town or village that is 90%+ white provides no frame of reference for the varying struggles people of color experience.

I grew up in one such town. Demographics were roughly 90% white, 10% Hispanic. I didn't have a black classmate until junior year of high school and I don't want to speculate about the reception they received.

As for stupidity, acquiring knowledge is at best unemphasized and at worst actively, intentionally discouraged. Willful ignorance may be a more accurate term.

There are certainly children curious enough to seek out knowledge and learn about other human experiences (hi) but I'm still struggling to escape that bucket of crabs and it has consumed and scarred me. The access to quality healthcare was abysmal, employment was primarily factory-based and starting from a place of low familial wealth is something I've struggled against my entire adult life. I'd venture a guess that he was raised in a similar setting and was only able to escape via military service.

In short; I agree with the sentiments he's expressed recently. I vehemently disagree with the sentiments he expressed over a decade ago. I'm willing to believe the tattoo was an arbitrarily chosen flash piece done in Croatia during his time in the Marines. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I'll never be his constituent so my opinion ultimately means jack shit.

permalink

fedilink

source

parent

[–] cypherpunks@lemmy.ml [S] 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Reddit somehow released his username and tied it to him?

CNN didn't say where they got his username, but he acknowledged the posts were his

From the article that reported the posts:

Most of the posts were made five years ago under Platner’s then-Reddit handle P-Hustle.

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Platner disavowed his posts, saying they came from a time when he felt disillusioned and angry and expressed those emotions online. He said his criticisms of rural White Americans and the police, and his political comments, do not reflect who he is and what he stands for today.

Now he has a nazi tattoo that he didn’t know was a nazi tattoo. That may be true?

It is mildly plausible that he could have gotten the tattoo without realizing what it was. It is highly implausible that (as he claimed on a podcast yesterday) nobody ever told him what it was during any of the many times he says he's had his shirt off over the last 18 years.