BS. When the news broke, I looked at his blob of a janky tattoo and said WTF? I looked up totenkopf photos and drawings. The 3/4 turned headshot is not the most popular one on the random websites I looked at, but I concede that for those that want a non-obvious to a casual on looker Nazi tattoo, then it’s possible. Then I listened to Pod Save America and some town halls where Platner explained his story. Platner also was checked for gang tattoos while in the Marines and passed. One unsubstantiated report from a woman who’s republican bonafides such as working at the Heritage Foundation raises questions about impartiality. You’ve got his squadmate above that got the tat together with Platner.
We know the Republican swift boating playbook. See “boy with a Nazi tattoo”
So, I’m not denying Platner knew at the time nor for years afterwards that it wasn’t just a bad-ass looking tattoo when drunk on leave in Croatia from active combat, but a symbol of the worst of Nazi Germany. Now he’s the boy with a Nazi tattoo, and a closet fascist that will flip immediately to being a hardcore Trumpist when elected. I find both assertations highly implausible, whilst dirty political swift boating is a lot more likely to me in the absence of something more compelling. YMMV.
Unless the way that Platner got to the Croatian tattoo parlor where he got his Nazi tattoo was a swift boat, I don’t see what “swiftboating” has to do with this.
Well, the fact he sought out and got a Nazi tattoo. Exactly how gullible does one have to be to conclude that people saying “The Nazi tattoo I got and covered up when it become politicially inconvenient? Oh, I didn’t know this well known Nazi symbol was a Nazi symbol!” aren’t lying?
If someone gets Nazi tattoos it’s a very safe bet to conclude they like Nazism.
He never “sought out” a “Nazi tattoo”. He and his Marine buddies decided to get matching tattoos and picked one they thought looked cool. You’re deliberately misrepresenting what happened to paint him in a negative light.
How many Doper’s saw Platner’s janky tattoo, and without being media influenced, immediately made the unmistakable connection with Nazi symbolism? A swastika absolutely. But that’s not what this is.
FWIW, I was quite the WW2 student for a few years. First time I can remember coming across the term “totenkopf” was when this story broke. YMMV.
None of us know Platner personally, the only time we would have learned about his tattoo was when news of it came out. The connection to Nazis, not symbolism, was already established in whatever news article we read. Once again, the FACT that is a Nazi symbol has at no point been denied by ANYONE. I have not understood what point you are trying to make at all.
The point is that people have been assuming “he’s a Nazi and he was a Nazi all along and he knew right away it was a Nazi symboo and decided to get it because of how much of a Nazi he is”, which isn’t valid because it’s a relatively obscure symbol compared to others and it’s perfectly reasonable that he and his buddies just saw a cool-looking skull and got it without knowing the connotations.
But I find it ridiculously implausible that Platner never learned of the Nazi association with that tattoo until the date he claims he learned of it. I think he’s almost certainly lying about that.
That’s not to his credit.
Much worse to me is the Kik issue. Because of the connection of Kik with underage sex activity, accusations against Platner along those lines will have credibility. His photo is undeniable evidence of his interest in some kind of sexual contact with strangers—even if he can somehow prove that he never sought minors for this purpose.
All that is ugly. To me it’s evidence that he’s something of a self-serving flake. “Public service” doesn’t come to mind when contemplating Platner.
That said, if I lived in Maine I would vote for him, because even if he turns out to be an unreliable vote for the Democratic Party, he’s likely (at least for some period of months) to be LESS BAD for Democrats than Susan Collins. And there’s not all that much damage he can do. Dems (including Bernie) would have to swallow their pride and admit they made a mistake by promoting him, but that couldn’t harm the party all that much.
I just pray (as I’ve said before) that Platner and his most-trusted campaign people are preparing for the inevitable GOP accusations of sexual misconduct. They need to be lining up witnesses and receipts, to counter whatever claims are made.
Again, this is circumstantial, conspiratorial evidence. The best I can find is that 70% of Kik users are between 13 and 24, which is a huge age range; and 30% are older. I’ve never used it (honestly not sure I’d heard of it before this), but it sounds like its anonymity is a big draw.
Is it plausible that Platner used it to creep on girls? Sure. Is it probable? How the hell would any of us know?
Give us evidence that he’s ever shown interest, as an adult, in teenagers. Show us his search history, or his walking in on teen beauty contestants, or his talking about how he’d date a teen if she were older, or some other evidence. Using an app that teens use is not evidence.
If he’s sexting with 17yos, that’s obviously disqualifying. If he’s sexting with 23yos–part of that 70%–that’s not disqualifying to me, except that I’d sure as hell not want to be married to him.
This thread is a textbook case in motivated reasoning. Folks don’t like Platner, so they’re willing to think the worst of him in every circumstance, and draw confident conclusions off precious little evidence.
Had. He no longer has one. So “boy with the Nazi tattoo” is not true. Young man who got a tattoo (which certainly resembles that of an SS Nazi unit badge), who later had it removed is true. When he knew about it is unknown.
But that is not the swiftboating part- the story told by the GOP operative being accept as gospel. The idea that Platner is cheating on his disability. The unsubstantiated claim that Platner knew what the tattoo meant when he got it, and that he and his Marine buddies are Nazis.
And dozens of other ridiculous claims.
The fact that the marines there were using a skull or skull and bones symbol commonly, painting it on vehicles, etc seem to indicate those claims are true. The claim that that Tattoo parlor is a secret nazi headquarters and all four Marines who got that tat knew what it was and got it as they are all Nazis is outlandish.
Mind you, it is certainly possible that Platner figured it out long before he had it removed for political reasons. But we dont know when or if that happened- the only evidence is a unsubstantiated anonymous quote.
I agree- that is possible, Or maybe he just couldnt afford to have it removed until he decided to run for office. The point is- we dont know when he knew.
Yes, there are strong allegations that some users are into that- but it has like 300 Million registered users. That cant taint all of them. I mean look at Twitter aka X- it has developed some nasty connotations now that Musk bought it. But they have like 600 million users. They aint all Musk fans.
As a data point, Kik is used a lot by swingers and the kink community (at least in my neck of the woods). Both communities have a lot of guys pretending to be single and trying to play around.
Funny how you call it “BS” and then prove me right.
It looking like an “amorphous blob” in your personal opinion doesn’t make it not a Totenkopf.
The relative obscurity or not of it within Nazi symbology doesn’t make it not a Totenkopf, not even with your frantic flailing and exaggeration on the subject.
Random people not recognizing it does not make it not a Totenkopf, not even if they’re Jewish.
Platner not knowing what it was when he originally got it doesn’t make it not a Totenkopf.
You calling us “sheeple” doesn’t make it not a Totenkopf, although it does suggest an awareness of the weakness of your arguments.
I’m perfectly willing to believe that Platner and his mates got the tattoos because they thought they looked cool and badass, and then he floundered badly when it began to threaten his political ambitions.
But it was a Totenkopf. So please spare us further iterations of your pretending that it might be otherwise for utterly ridiculous reasons.