# Are there any reasons to reject Graham Platner in Maine (campaign suspended July 8, 2026) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 4, 2026, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179 "2026-03-04T03:50:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 48
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/943 "2026-06-07T20:54:20Z")
Fact: I don’t give a shit about when he found out what his tattoo was, because it’s him or Collins. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/944 "2026-06-07T20:59:00Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Please consider that this person is in the running to be a United States Senator. Yes, you can probably come up with a laundry list of excuses why it’s OK to be a shitposter and it’s OK to “accidentally” get a Nazi tattoo because he’s kind of dumb and it’s OK that he just had the one DUI and there might be a really good reason he locked his girlfriend up, and it’s not technically in kidnapping in every state, and sure maybe he said he opposed war and then ran off to sign up for it after deciding war is cool because 18-year-olds are complicated. Welcome to the internet generation. You’re going to have to get used to voting for people who said and did stupid shit online when they were young, because contrary to what they believe, the baby boomers aren’t going to live forever. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/945 "2026-06-07T21:19:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And IMHO anyone who suggests that there’s any chance that he isn’t a Nazi sympathizer is grasping at straws. > > Non-Nazi sympathizers don’t wear Nazi tattoos for at least six years after they know what they are. The only reason anyone ever does that is if they’re a Nazi sympathizer. Again, your evidence that he knew about it for six years is weak to non-existent. You were so sure that it was definitive proof, and yet it was unwound simply by reading what his post said and the posts around it. Your evidence being weaker than you thought should result in your conclusion weakening, yet it does not appear to have done so. What we actually have here is evidence that points in different ways. We have some signalling (the tattoo and how long it was kept, appearing on certain podcasts) that would, on their own, suggest Nazi sympathies. Yet, despite being really bad at covering up his past, everything we find that he said or done (including stuff that makes him look bad in other ways) is completely at odds with Nazi ideology. And then we have him actively repudiating Nazi ideology. His platform is completely at odds with Nazi ideology. To borrow your language: Nazi sympathizers just don’t do these things. They will hide their sympathies, but they don’t actively go against them. To sum up: Your evidence he knew for 6 years just isn’t there. Your conclusions are way too strong based on the evidence you have. And you are ignoring all of the evidence that goes against your conclusion. * * * Rather than grasping at straws, the “guy did stupid stuff in his past” narrative actually fits better than the “guy is actually a Nazi and has been faking for years” narrative. Especially once you add the “and will switch to Nazi ideology once in office” aspect that seems utterly ridiculous. Dude will wanna be reelected if he wants any sort of power to do anything. Junior senators are the least powerful senators. Gaining popular support is the only way he can actually assert power. Alienating everyone would make him just a seat filler. The worst he could do in office is be a weaker version of Collins. The actual question is just “would Mills be better?” ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/946 "2026-06-07T21:34:27Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Again, your evidence that he knew about it for six years is weak to non-existent. You were so sure that it was definitive proof, and yet it was unwound simply by reading what his post said and the posts around it. Except that no, no it did not. > [@BigT](#): > > Your evidence being weaker than you thought should result in your conclusion weakening, yet it does not appear to have done so. It’s ironic because _your_ initial argument was that Chronos’ cite couldn’t possibly exist due to privacy issues, but when this was disproved, it did nothing to change your certainty. > [@BigT](#): > > simply by reading what his post said and the posts around it. So let’s do that. In order to make the post he did, he first would have read this comment: > [@](#): > > Just out of curiosity - how do you know they’re SS? What gives them away? Is it the camo? Followed by this reply: > [@](#): > > The totenkopf on the dude first on the left is a good clue. He then would have seen this post that detailed what a Totenkopf was and made the “are we the baddies” reference: > [@](#): > > _has literal human skulls on uniform_ > > “Ignore that we’re the good guys” > > Edit: just so everyone is fully aware it’s a joke The discussion would go on back and forth for a few more posts, but again, the way that Reddit displays nestled comments means that you cannot reply to a comment six replies in directly just because it is theost recent comment posted, the way it works in a forum with threads like the SDMB. The only way to see the deeper discussion about punisher skulls and their use in the army is to have seen the Totenkopf/“are we the baddies” reference and think “this is interesting, I want to keep reading this discussion” before hitting “See more replies”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/947 "2026-06-07T21:41:21Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Yet, despite being really bad at covering up his past, everything we find that he said or done (including stuff that makes him look bad in other ways) is completely at odds with Nazi ideology. And then we have him actively repudiating Nazi ideology. His platform is completely at odds with Nazi ideology. His platform, in many spots, exactly mirrors what the Nazis said. They, too, were populists who railed against “elite bankers”. Now, it’s possible for actual liberals to rail against elite bankers, but it’s also perfectly consistent with being a Nazi. And when you combine that with the Nazi tattoo that he kept for years despite knowing what it was, and the hanging out with guys who are even less shy about being Nazis, it’s not hard to figure out. The only thing that you can say for him is that he’s never voted for any Nazi legislation. And he’s also never voted against any Nazi legislation. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/948 "2026-06-07T21:47:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > His platform, in many spots, exactly mirrors what the Nazis said. They, too, were populists who railed against “elite bankers”. Cite for Platner “railing against elite bankers”, please. And I must’ve missed where the Nazis were for universal healthcare, trans rights, organized labor, legal immigration, and Native sovereignty. As I said, this is “Obama is a secret Muslim” levels of conspiracy theory thinking. If Platner were a Nazi who was running for office to advance a Nazi agenda, he’d be running _as a Nazi_, not as a progressive leftist Democrat, because there are sadly enough people out there who will vote for open white supremacists these days. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/949 "2026-06-07T21:55:46Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > The Maine electorate itself is far more Republican than a lot of us would like to admit. Ballotpedia: > [@](#): > > Maine was won by the Democratic candidate in each of the last eight presidential elections. The last Republican candidate to win the state was George H.W. Bush (R) in 1988. There are undoubtedly people in Maine who’ve supported Republican candidates. Susan Collins has benefited for decades, but the second Senator (Angus King) caucuses with the Democrats, despite being an Independent. These facts are part of the reason there has been hope that Collins could be swapped out for a Democrat this year. You really can’t call Maine a Red state. > [@DSeid](#): > > Mills dropped out because it was clear that despite (or maybe even partly because) of her establishment support, she had no chance to win either the primary or the general election. Maybe last fall you could claim ‘Mills has no chance to win either the primary or the general’ and not get too much push-back. I’m not sure that’s still true. Donald has been spending billions in Iran to make the US position in the Middle East much weaker, and we all see some of the results (there will be more) at the gas pump. Donald is also clearly deteriorating mentally, what with the ‘Reflecting Pool is bigger than buildings’ obsession. I don’t think you can assume that Maine voters will shrug at the prospect of keeping Trump-enabler Collins in office. I suspect a lot of them are much less willing to do that—and might even bestir themselves to vote for a Democrat. Mills may not be exciting, but she _ **is** _ reliable in her opposition to Trump. And Maine voters may decide that for the sake of that, they can overlook her lack of manly glamour. [https://ballotpedia.org/Presidential\_election\_in\_Maine,\_2024](https://ballotpedia.org/Presidential_election_in_Maine,_2024) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/950 "2026-06-07T21:58:12Z")
Ths most recent poll has Platner up by 66 points. [https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1959&context=survey\_center\_polls](https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1959&context=survey_center_polls) ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/951 "2026-06-07T22:11:08Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > No, even the Soviet Union **has** elections. Emphasis mine. Is this a political statement or a random error? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/952 "2026-06-07T22:21:59Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z77JFw2D6f8/hqdefault.jpg "The Simpsons: USSR Returns") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z77JFw2D6f8) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/953 "2026-06-07T23:12:16Z")
It’s a random error. S and D are next to each other. I have a ton of trouble swapping Do and So, too. And i should have gone with North Korea. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/954 "2026-06-07T23:32:09Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > her lack of manly glamour. I am the impression that her horrible unfavorable ratings have nothing to do with gender but with her being seen as establishment old guard and … boring. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/955 "2026-06-07T23:40:46Z")
Precisely. A lot of people, rightly or wrongly, attribute Trump’s winning in 2024 to Biden having been too old, and the Democratic party in general has a problem with its leadership being composed of fossilized septuagenarians clinging to power well past their sell-by date (e.g. Dianne Feinstein literally having to be wheeled in to vote while her mind and body fell apart), are obsessed with obsolete political norms of congeniality and bipartisanship that haven’t been relevant since Newt Gingrich was still in office, and are generally too interested in trying to preserve a pro-corporate status quo than fighting the rising tide of fascism. You shouldn’t be _starting_ a career in Congress when you’re already past the age where most people have retired, and Schumer deciding to throw the party’s weight behind a 78-year-old establishment centrist at a time when voters clearly want fighters was a boneheaded idea that was bound to fail if a young charismatic fighter presented themselves. And it has in Platner. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/956 "2026-06-08T00:33:25Z")
Which returns us to this post: > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Josh Marshall with a great piece on how this race, and the ongoing scandals, are breaking into every little subgroup within the Democratic and progressive coalition, and everyone is using it to justify or support or rationalize their preferred narrative on party politics in general: Yup. As demonstrated by @Babale in his trying to lump all forms of “populism” under one umbrella, with his problem perhaps being more clearly expressed here: > [@Babale](#): > > someone like AOC or Platner has _fundamentally different goals for society_ than the goals that Liberals have. Which is why I’m find with letting them “in the tent” as long as they support Liberalism against Fascism, but I’m _ **not** _ willing to let them steer the ship. Where they want to go and where I want to go are not the same and never will be. I’m personally a pragmatist. This specific election in Maine is best won as a “change” election, and for better and worse Platner is that. Maine is its own place with huge numbers of Independents, but it still informs. Going forward it needs to be decided how much change need be part of the marketing package. Obama sold change but was in fact very much an old school moderate who wanted to compromise more than fight. Minimally these next cycles need fighters. Not "normalcy and not carefully curated. My suspicion is that Maine voters will buy the redemption arc he is presenting and that he will win fairly solidly. And that he will be a pretty unremarkable supporter of The Squad. But we can bump this thread in a year or so to follow up! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/957 "2026-06-08T02:37:51Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > But we can bump this thread in a year or so to follow up! Well, I agree, I am by no means sure of him- but I _am_ sure of Collins. Collins has to go. But I know the MAGA swiftboaters will come up with more and more dirt- lies, half truths and exaggerations. And some people will faithfully post each and every one of them here. But this is interesting- > **[Maine Poll: Platner Holds Slight Lead over Collins in U.S. Senate Race | News](https://www.uml.edu/news/press-releases/2026/06042026-maine-senate-poll.aspx)** > The survey of 650 likely Maine voters shows Platner has the support of 48% of respondents, compared to 43% for Collins, with 6% undecided and 2% supporting another candidate. A gender gap exists among polltakers who back each candidate: 54% of women and 42% of men support Platner, while Collins earns the support of 35% of women and 51% of men. Maine women support Platner, not Collins. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/958 "2026-06-08T02:47:43Z")
54% of 650 of those likely to vote do, reportedly. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/959 "2026-06-08T02:55:38Z")
Well, yes, but what surprised me was- 54% women support Planter but only 35% Collins. Of course, polls, sample size, yada yada, etc etc. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/960 "2026-06-08T05:27:27Z")
First, appreciate you finally posting links. Let’s go through them. > [@Chronos](#): > > Fact: Platner got a tattoo in 2007 that was, in actuality, a Nazi symbol. This one ^^^ especially chaps my ass. Your below [cite](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/10/21/graham-platner-addresses-tattoo-linked-to-nazis/) is good journalism and leads with “A leading Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine took the unusual step this week of disclosing he has a tattoo that has been _linked_ to Nazis.” I for one can see how lazy journalism combined with opposition swiftboating turns this into “Platner had, and knew it when he got it, a Nazi tattoo”. Hell, in this thread this canard has been repeated multiple times by multiple posters as incontrovertible fact that “Platner had a Nazi tattoo”, and most traditional press is parroting. Read your own cite or listen to the [Pod Save America interview](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/graham-platner-isnt-backing-down/id1192761536?i=1000752293544) for comprehension. Platner does not “admit” he knew it was linked to a Nazi symbol when he got it, and only covered it up in 2025 (?) when he learned that some people thought it was a Nazi symbol (despite having passed several military anti-gang and anti-hate body inspections and his Jewish sister in law and family didn’t ever raise it.) > [@Chronos](#): > > Fact: In February 2019, Platner participated in a [discussion on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/comments/auy0bi/battleweary_ss/) about that specific Nazi symbol, which proves that, by that date, he knew what it was. [Cite](https://undelete.pullpush.io/r/CombatFootage/comments/auy0bi/_/ehbh3n6/?context=4) there was this comment by [deleted] in the first cite. I’m assuming deleted is purported to be Platner? Not sure if one can definitively say so but assume it is true: [deleted] “The totenkopf on the dude first on the left is a good clue.” Second quote same as above but different discussion given how Reddit is set up, correct? This link attributes the quote to “milsurptrader”, and is this Platner’s Reddit name? > [@Chronos](#): > > Fact: Platner later deleted his post in that discussion, an acknowledgment that it was proof that he knew what it was. This could just as easily be explained by Platner deleting some and/or all of his Reddit posts. And if he only deleted most of hundreds of posts, he prolly just took a weed whacker to them, and didn’t read each and every thread to consider what might be weaponized or were just embarrassing. And _you’re_ making the assumption that this is smoking gun proof “acknowledgement” by Platner. Imaging you trying to go through your entire history of Dope posts, and only deleting the ones that might embarrass you now? Not conclusive IMHO. > [@Chronos](#): > > Fact: Platner kept his Nazi tattoo until at least October 2025 [Cite](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/10/21/graham-platner-addresses-tattoo-linked-to-nazis/). Again, this doesn’t mean jack. Just as easily can be explained by him being ignorant that some people might think there is a link to a Nazi tattoo, then getting vetted with spotlight scrutiny as one starting a candidacy for Senate. I can just hear the political strategist telling Platner: “Ya know, Graham, some opposition research might find a tenuous connection between that really janky blobish chest tattoo and a relatively obscure Nazi symbol. I know you got it with your squaddies, and it’s not like a Nazi swastika or anything that could be broadly recognized by Joe six-pack, but this is big league mudslinging. Jus’ sayin’ you might want to cover that up and avoid a potential swiftboating.” > [@Chronos](#): > > Fact: Platner claimed that he got rid of the tattoo as soon as he learned what it was. see above. Again, appreciate you providing these cites. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/961 "2026-06-08T06:27:19Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > there was this comment by [deleted] in the first cite. I’m assuming deleted is purported to be Platner? Not sure if one can definitively say so but assume it is true: > [deleted] “The totenkopf on the dude first on the left is a good clue.” I think that anyone who knows what a totenkopf is would have recognized that his tattoo looked a hell of a lot like that, especially when it was fresh. But that doesn’t mean that’s what the tattoo meant to him. I was shocked the first time i visited Japan to see little swastikas all over the tourist maps. But they mean “shinto shrine” (or maybe " Buddhist temple" , i forget). And i can see not wanting to remove a tattoo because you learned it looks like a really obscure Nazi symbol that few people would recognize, especially as it took the tattoo journey into blobdom. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/962 "2026-06-08T08:52:44Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But that doesn’t mean that’s what the tattoo meant to him. As I said before, there are certain subcultures, though it’s somewhat of a dying trend these days, where showing off Nazi symbols doesn’t mean “I am a Nazi” so much as it means “I am a badass motherfucker and you don’t want to fuck with me”. Some of the early outlaw bikers wore Nazi medals because they’d literally taken them off the bodies of German soldiers they’d killed in the war. (My grandpa fought in the Pacific, but he had a katana he’d taken from a Japanese officer in the same way.) Lemmy of Motorhead wore an Iron Cross and a Confederate cavalry cap for most of his life because he thought it looked cool. The band KISS (whose original lineup is 50% Jewish) uses an SS rune in the stylized spelling of their name. Black Sabbath’s compilation album “We Sold Our Soul For Rock ‘n’ Roll” has an SS rune on the cover. The Imperial Dogs, an important band in the history of the southern California proto-punk scene, flew a swastika flag on the stage during the one concert they did that was committed to tape. In the hippy-dippy beach neighborhood I grew up in in San Diego, there was a custom motorcycle shop owned by a black man that used an SS rune as its logo. My aunt’s husband’s brother, who is Jewish, literally tattooed a swastika onto his own arm as a teenager because he thought it looked badass. I can easily understand Platner deciding to get the matching tattoo with his buddies because he thought it looked badass, not realizing what it was until years later, and deciding that, since it was on a part of his body that people don’t usually see and it was a reminder of a good experience he’d had, there wasn’t any urgency in getting it removed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179.md?page=47) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179.md?page=49)