The symbol in question:

Okay, so having learned that, the laser treatment to remove it is probably in his calendar already, right? And he'll be able to show everyone that it's removed quite soon?

Right?

edit Right.

the antisemitism group Anti-Defamation League

Looks like they accidentally described a zionist group accurately!

Our senators have got skulls on them. Are.. are we the baddies?

I'm willing to believe that maybe through some crazy chain of events you didn't know when you got it. I'm maybe even willing to believe that through some crazy chain of events you didn't learn about it for 18 years. What I am not willing to believe is that when he decided to run, nobody in his team told him. He should have gotten it covered or removed. They go through your life looking for anything bad because they know the opposition will. All this combined, there's 0% chance he just learned now. For some reason they're playing this weird game. The most generous interpretation I can come up with is that he feels attachment to it and doesn't wanna get rid of it, but even that's pretty fucked. You can't keep your racist tattoo just because you're nostalgic for it.

on Friday a series of Reddit posts made by Platner between 2013 and 2021 — and deleted before his campaign — in which he called himself a “communist,” referred to law enforcement officers as “bastards” and downplayed the severity sexual assault reports

One of those things is not like the others

Platner's former political director

Sen. Bernie Sanders, who strongly backed Platner earlier this month, said the revelations about Platner do not impact his endorsement.

“He went through a dark period,” Sanders told reporters on Tuesday. “He has apologized for the stupid remarks, the hurtful remarks that he made, and I’m confident that he’s going to run a great campaign and that he’s going to win.”

Vermont Sen. Peter Welch also told NOTUS on Tuesday that he is confident “Mainers will figure it out.”

Cynthia Phinney, president of the Maine AFL-CIO, said she had not seen reports about Platner’s tattoo and the controversy surrounding it. But she made clear she thought the negative news about Platner was a result of meddling from the national Democratic Party.

“I’m disappointed with the apparent engagement of the national party in our state primary the way this is coming out,” Phinney said.

Phinney said that she didn’t have proof that the national party was behind the emergence of a series of damaging news stories about his campaign but that she thought the “mudslinging” was unhelpful regardless of its source.

“I don’t think this is adding to the quality of what people are getting to think about in the campaign,” she said. “The important thing to me is to replace Suan Collins.”

When asked about the reports, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer threw his weight behind Mills’ campaign. 

“We think that Janet Mills is the best candidate to retire Susan Collins. She’s a tested two-term governor and the people of Maine have an enormous amount of affection and respect for her,” he said, adding: “I’ll let the people of Maine decide.”

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.

Seems like it’s become in fashion to blame ignorance over your shitty beliefs, instead of owning own your choices like a responsible adult.

The guy with 5 separate compact tours who was deployed in the same cities and time of Blackwater documented war crimes of killings and rapings in Ramadi and Faillujah, and kept rejoinging the same ill-trained war-criminal military contrator for 13 years of US imperalism invovlment in third-world countries that left them in poverty and ruins ?? Wait, he also has histroy of sexual assault allegations, rape and racist comments, and a nazi tattoo??

Edit: it turned out he only joined blackwater after they were rebranded as Constellis due to their war crime convictions. he also apologized for his rape and racist comments after people found out about them. and about the tattoos he said it was from anime or whatever but it's not nazi symbol. He is still proud of his 5 compact tours of shame US invasions over the period of 13 years though as if he can't stop reminiscing about the memories of seeing brown people killed.

Imo, he is conciousless af, and ready to lie and adapt to tell you whatever you want to hear, and he's so eager to be in position of power... So it all checks out; he is perfect for the job of a conciousless lip-service politician with values open for sale to the highest bidder.

But according to a person who socialized with Platner when he was living in Washington, D.C., more than a decade ago, Platner had specifically acknowledged that the tattoo was a Totenkopf, the "death's head" symbol adopted by an infamous Nazi SS unit that guarded concentration camps in World War II.

"He said, 'Oh, this is my Totenkopf," the former acquaintance told Jewish Insider recently, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address a sensitive issue. "He said it in a cutesy little way."

The exchange occurred in 2012 at Tune Inn, a popular dive on Capitol Hill where Platner later worked as a bartender and was a frequent patron while he attended The George Washington University on the G.I. bill, according to the former acquaintance. He would often take his shirt off drinking with friends late at night at the bar, and on at least one occasion had stated he knew what the tattoo represented, the former acquaintance recalled.

Platner gave varying accounts of the image during this time, saying at one point he was aware it was a Totenkopf when he had first gotten the tattoo several years prior and at another time claiming he had not known, according to the former acquaintance.

The mixed accounts indicate that Platner has at least long been aware of the symbols's connection to Nazism, even as he said in the podcast interview he was not familiar with any such association when he chose to get the tattoo.

The source for this is Jewish Insider, which I’m sure people will say whatever they are going to say about that, but at some point this guys multiple red flags need to be taken as a pattern.

Dude has a very clear pattern of making questionable choices in the most favorable reading of circumstances. His former campaign manager said this when resigning over Grahams past comments:

“The words we choose to use online reflect who we are and what we stand for. While I am empathetic to Graham’s experiences and respect his personal journey and growth, I cannot overlook the volume and nature of his past comments, many of which were made as an adult, not as a young man.” McDonald said in her resignation letter.

Y’all need to stop apologizing for this guy and start looking for a better candidate to get behind so it isn’t Janet Mills in the general.

Something about a wolf in sheep's clothing.

I'm sure he won't mind live streaming the removal then.

Oof

Ouch

The old comments were easily forgivable

A literal Nazi tattoo is something else :/

To be fair, I didn't even know what a Totenkopf was before yesterday. Yes, I'm an American zoomer. This goes to show how shite our US history public education is.

And Platner said that he underwent multiple inspections by the military. Not one of those times did the military point out that his tattoo was a hate symbol. Should they have? Would they have? Clearly not.

Now that he knows the "truth", whether you agree that this is his first time learning about the symbol or not, he needs to cover it up or have it removed. Post pictures on social media. Make it a big thing so the fascists and tankies don't call you a communist and Nazi all at the same time.

If he doesn't get it removed, well then I'm not sure if I want to back him.