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Having a US senator that was an Abu Ghraib (the US torture camp in Iraq) prison guard, seems incredibly on brand.
this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2025
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He did cover it up. Nevertheless, he absolutely has a lot to answer for in terms of his "service" to the US military (including torture camps) and then joining Blackwater, as well as obviously his assertion that he didn't know what it was for 18 years
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.
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
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.
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.
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
Do you have more info?
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
Can you share a source?
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/
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.
Let me know when he expresses any intent about decreasing US militarism/imperialism.
I hope the Overton window shifts that far to the left some day.
It's actually already there.
Ending US wars is like universal healthcare. Sadly, this is one of those things where the mainstream public consensus is overwhelmingly on our side.
Which is really scary. This isn't a challenge of shifting the Overton window. It's one of figuring out how to translate the will of the people into government action in what is supposed to be a democracy. 'Cause we already won public opinion, and it turns out that's not where the sticking point is.
The reality all leftists/socialists must confront is that the only way forward might require the window to be broken.
Still don’t get Nazi vibes from him.
Small wars are pretty enjoyable.
Just a lot of killing civilians in the globe south for this guy.
Wait, so this skull was a nazi symbol?! Princess Leia’s skull!!?? Seems kind of beta male to me.
Well they did lose on the battlefield eventually, mostly thanks to the USSR.