Graham Platner himself says he was a piece of shit during this period of his life and struggled with PTSD. He’s owned all of it. If you read his Reddit comments too, he does discuss the tattoo in depth and makes it pretty clear that many in the military get these types of tattoos without regard for the historical context, kind of like how people get “punisher” tattoos that work in law enforcement. A lot of these people are black or brown even, but they do it because it’s just a cultural thing in the military. Not saying it’s a good thing that should continue, but just that it doesn’t strictly identify people as Nazis. Actually, a lot of Platner’s comments on Reddit make it clear that he is pretty left, even identifying as a communist and democratic socialist. So, I think the kind of attacks you’re making are very shallow and we just have to look a little deeper to find the real story. Also, we should ask ourselves if we believe in redemption, especially for someone who struggled with PTSD. Also, recognize that letting Collins win is far worse and this race is about far more than whether this guy made some mistakes in the past. Do we want to see more MAGA republicans on the Supreme Court? Do we want a senator that rubber stamps Trump’s agenda? Do we want a senator that will continue to cut taxes for the rich, or one determined to raise them on billionaires?
Graham Platner himself says he was a piece of shit during this period of his life and struggled with PTSD. He’s owned all of it. If you read his Reddit comments too, he does discuss the tattoo in depth and makes it pretty clear that many in the military get these types of tattoos without regard for the historical context, kind of like how people get “punisher” tattoos that work in law enforcement. A lot of these people are black or brown even, but they do it because it’s just a cultural thing in the military. Not saying it’s a good thing that should continue, but just that it doesn’t strictly identify people as Nazis. Actually, a lot of Platner’s comments on Reddit make it clear that he is pretty left, even identifying as a communist and democratic socialist. So, I think the kind of attacks you’re making are very shallow and we just have to look a little deeper to find the real story. Also, we should ask ourselves if we believe in redemption, especially for someone who struggled with PTSD. Also, recognize that letting Collins win is far worse and this race is about far more than whether this guy made some mistakes in the past. Do we want to see more MAGA republicans on the Supreme Court? Do we want a senator that rubber stamps Trump’s agenda? Do we want a senator that will continue to cut taxes for the rich, or one determined to raise them on billionaires?
You know all those good cops with punisher tattoos. You can’t make this level of cognitive dissonance up.
its a shame that every argument in favor of Platner needs to be “well, he is better than the Republicans.”
Some day we are going to get a candidate than is objectively good instead of just being better than the worst possible option.
I don’t think that’s a fair summary of what they said. Guy seems pretty cool, tbh.