# People defending Graham Platner are pathetic and intellectually bankrupt **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 12, 2026, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839 "2026-06-12T02:58:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/161 "2026-07-01T00:42:00Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > If you have a symbol inked on to your body I am going to assume that you are much more likely to know what it means than a random member of the public. Clearly you are unaware of the extremely common phenomenon of people wearing tattoos their entire lives with zero idea of what they mean. It’s so common, for example, for people to have insulting or nonsensical tattoos with Chinese language that it has become a trope. Similarly for other kinds of tattoos. What you think is “obvious” is factually incorrect and an ignorant statement. Your whole argument here is based on assumptions and false assertions. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2026, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/162 "2026-07-01T00:43:35Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Clearly you are unaware of the extremely common phenomenon of people wearing tattoos their entire lives with zero idea of what they mean. It’s so common, for example, for people to have insulting or nonsensical tattoos with Chinese language that it has become a trope. I didn’t realize the Totenkopf wasn’t actually a skull, it was just the Chinese character for ‘skull’. Oh, wait, that’s not the case at all. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/163 "2026-07-01T00:45:27Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > I didn’t realize the Totenkopf wasn’t actually a skull, it was just the Chinese character for ‘skull’. I didn’t realize that all skulls are Nazi symbols. 🙄 This is a disingenuous argument on top of your earlier lie you were caught on. And yet _you_ are claiming that he’s untrustworthy. 😆 ---
**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:** [July 1, 2026, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/164 "2026-07-01T00:47:19Z")
I’m dying to hear what ‘lie’ you think you caught me on. Coming from the guy who insisted that ‘people with Nazi tattoos’ must mean people who each have multiple Nazi tattoos, I’m sure it will be a doozy. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/165 "2026-07-01T00:48:09Z")
Claiming that you never stated he knew it was a Nazi symbol after saying he knew it was a Nazi symbol. You realize everyone can see what you’re posting here. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/166 "2026-07-01T00:49:20Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Claiming that you never stated he knew it was a Nazi symbol after saying he knew it was a Nazi symbol. I’m fairly certain I’ve gone on the record multiple times, in this and the other thread, saying that I don’t think he knew it was a Nazi tattoo at the time that he got it; but whatever lies you want to tell about me are fine, Nazi-tattoo-haver-supporter. > [@Atamasama](#): > > You realize everyone can see what you’re posting here. Yep, which is how they can tell you are lying about my position. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/167 "2026-07-01T00:51:03Z")
Would you be supportive of Platner if he’d never gotten the tattoo, but everything else about him was exactly the same? ---
**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:** [July 1, 2026, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/168 "2026-07-01T00:54:30Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Would you be supportive of Platner if he’d never gotten the tattoo, but everything else about him was exactly the same?. I wouldn’t be his biggest fan, but I’d have no hesitation in supporting him over 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:** [July 1, 2026, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/169 "2026-07-01T00:57:36Z")
Then I have some good news for you about the current existence of said tattoo! ---
**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:** [July 1, 2026, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/170 "2026-07-01T00:58:41Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Then I have some good news for you about the current existence of said tattoo!. MAGA is no longer storming the capitol on June 30th, 2026; but that doesn’t make me want to support Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/171 "2026-07-01T01:05:10Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > I’m fairly certain I’ve gone on the recor multiple times, in this and the other thread, saying that I don’t think he knew it was a Nazi tattoo at the time that he got it; but whatever lies you want to tell me are fine, Nazi tattoo supporter. So then your argument is that he didn’t know what it was, but he **definitely** found out and kept it based on the fact that having a tattoo means that you _have_ to know what it is somehow. I myself have gone on record many times saying that I question his intelligence. I don’t defend the decision to get the tattoo, as I think it’s foolish to get a tattoo without knowing what it is. I do think that not looking it up at some point over the years shows a level of intellectual incuriosity. It’s not at all implausible and doesn’t mean he is “clinically mentally disabled” as you exaggerate, as it’s not at all uncommon for people to just not bother to check, but it **is** foolish. I think it is unfortunate that he’s the one representing Democrats in this race. Other things that are dumb: - He shared a social media post from a person who was warning about an impending war with Iran (which later proved to be true). What he apparently didn’t know until afterward was that the guy was an extremist and neo-Nazi radio host known for Holocaust denial. He deleted it after finding out who he is. Which is another instance of ignorance that doesn’t speak well of him. - He appeared on YouTube video hosted by a retired Green Beret, who has made antisemitic comments before. Despite all that, I haven’t ever seen anyone show actual antisemitic actions or speech from him. Nor has anyone produced evidence of him promotion right-wing ideologies. Just guilt by association that could have been avoided by doing a bit of research first. What I’m objecting to is the idea that having that symbol at one point makes him a liar somehow. And we should expect him to suddenly turn into a right-wing politician once elected. That’s all that I’ve been pushing back against, because there is no evidence of any of that. People pushing that conspiracy theory are saying that unless someone can somehow prove a negative, and somehow without a doubt prove him to be trustworthy, that we should assume that he will do that and not support him. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/172 "2026-07-01T01:08:36Z")
Right, because having a tattoo is morally equivalent to a failed coup. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/173 "2026-07-01T01:11:37Z")
No, no, unintentionally getting a “Nazi tattoo” is morally equivalent to intentionally attempting a coup. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2026, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/174 "2026-07-01T01:13:15Z")
And the proposed remedy to this moral impurity is to cede control of the government to the faction that orchestrated that coup. Makes sense to me! ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/175 "2026-07-01T01:16:54Z")
An administration that is the useful idiot spearhead of an anti-semitic movement, Christian Nationalism, that can’t wait 'till Jesus comes back and kills two thirds of the world’s Jews . . . but Platner is the anti-semite we should worry about. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/176 "2026-07-01T01:36:47Z")
Seriously. We saw today that this country is one vote away from the Supreme Court creating a permanent underclass of unpeople with no civil rights by fiat and people want to virtue-signal about a tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/177 "2026-07-01T01:39:42Z")
If Platner wins the Dope is gonna be really fun for a while. I still find it absolutely hilarious that anyone who’s paid any attention for the past ten years feels any confidence making predictions about political newcomers and would-be disruptors (or really politics in general). Face it. You’re guessing. Doesn’t matter how certain you are. Don’t expect anyone to treat your guess as anything but a random internet guess. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2026, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/178 "2026-07-01T02:04:30Z")
The worst case scenario with a Senator Platner, IMO, is that he falls victim to the same corporate lobbying machine that corrupted Sinema, turns into a milquetoast centrist Schumerite who disappoints his constituents while still voting party line most of the time, and loses the primary in 2032. The idea that as soon as he’s elected he’s going to twirl his mustache, rip off his shirt to reveal a massive swastika tattoo, and start shouting blood libels is a fantasy. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2026, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/179 "2026-07-01T02:09:47Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The worst case scenario with a Senator Platner, IMO, is that he falls victim to the same corporate lobbying machine that corrupted Sinema, turns into a milquetoast centrist Schumerite who disappoints his constituents while still voting party line most of the time, and loses the primary in 2032. That’s worse than him voting Republican as soon as he gets sworn in? Really? And here, I thought you didn’t like people voting Republican. Right now, the only reason to support him is that he calls himself a Democrat. You know who else called himself a Democrat? Another thing that occurred to me today: How did this story even drop? Clearly, someone who knows him well enough to have seen him shirtless did recognize the tattoo. And this person, whoever they were, didn’t tell him what it was? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/180 "2026-07-01T02:19:43Z")
Oh for god’s sake, shut the fuck up Chronos. You have exactly one thing to say that you’ve said over and over and over. The worst thing about you being a moderator is that I can’t block you forever. And even if you didn’t or don’t like Manchin or Sinema or Fetterman or even someone like Specter or any number of other senators who used to be in Congress caucusing with the Democrats even if they couldn’t always be counted on to be whipped successfully, the point is that they did give the majority to the Democrats when they were in the Senate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839.md?page=10)