I had not heard of the totemkof before this or knew that it was a Nazi symbol I think it's totally possible that he just thought the skull was cool. Like honestly as an American we are really dumb and uneducated as can be seen here since most people don't know what that is.

[–] IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world 9 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

if that's the case, and it was an honest mistake. which is plausible. that means that as soon as I find out what it means, I will get a coverup or have it removed.

keeping it is a massive red flag. I'm not a nazi, but I'm ok with having Nazi signs on my own skin? yhea, that's bullshit

[–] culprit@lemmy.ml 23 points 1 day ago (2 children)

There are witnesses to him jokingly referring to it as his 'totenkopf' like 8 years ago when he worked at a bar. Anyone interested in military history should probably be aware of it as well.

[–] nullroot@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yeah I can believe being a stupid drunk soldier getting a skull tattoo not knowing what it was. But then not making the first possible appointment to cover the fucking Nazi symbol as soon as you realized this? Nah. I hate this shit.

[–] theneverfox@pawb.social 1 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

I think it was more of a crazy story tattoo than a Nazi tattoo to him

This guy was listing wars he'd like to fight in, because they were against civilians. This guy does not see the world in a normal way set all

But hey, his positions are on point. I'm not going out on a limb for him, but maybe chud-coded progressives are a viable strategy

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Do you have more info?

[–] theneverfox@pawb.social 2 points 17 hours ago

I can't find the original posts... Search engines are unusable these days

But the one that stood out to me was when he was saying his preferred wars to fight in would be ones like the Philippines or Afghanistan, so that he could get the rush of combat without the danger of actual opposition

Most of the posts people are freaking out about are ignorant shit I have no problem looking past... Casual bigotry is something you can grow out of easily with experience

But the dude has a thing with violence and war I find more concerning... But he does seem like a principled progressive, so I think it's worth giving him a shot

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Can you share a source?

[–] culprit@lemmy.ml 7 points 17 hours ago

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.

https://jewishinsider.com/2025/10/graham-platner-ss-tattoo-maine-senate/

[–] not_that_guy05@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

I mean there's people even getting Chinese symbols and they don't know WTF it means 80% of the time. I can believe it but I also feel that some of his story is kind fishy. You know.