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Graham Platner welcomes attacks from 'fascists and bigots' over his support for trans rights
(www.advocate.com)
this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2026
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politics
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Only to those with either thin skin, a sense of entitlement about what kinds of people should be allowed access to political power, or who don't have a coherent theory of change.
Look. I'm a veteran. I drank that kool-aid and won the poverty draft lotto. I literally signed up for tacos. Understanding the imperialist machine from the inside changes you. And veterans have been representative in the fight against fascism in the US the whole time. And I've worked with every one in those links. Many of them were raised as conservative assholes. And for some of them it took their buddy getting blown up in the humvee next to them to wake up to the consequences of imperialism. And you should have the grace to allow people to change.
It is looking good for him so far. Even with the cynics shouting.
https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/senate/general/2026/maine/collins-vs-platner
Hah, joke's on me. I threw that in to head off the complaining from his haters, so we could focus on the good things he's doing. Can't please everybody, I guess.
I mean your not wrong to have included it. But so much of the reaction is from a place of cynicism and bad faith. I think everyones hackles are raised, and legitimately so, around characters like Sinema and Fetterman. But what Planter is doing is clearly different and has been different since they started. I got to meet them when one of my volunteer groups were trying to make the decision around endorsing him. This was back in September & October.
And there has been a lot which has happened between August and now. Anything that can happened in this race basically did. If they had more powder to set off, they needed to set it off weeks ago, because at this pace Platner is looking to schelack Collins.
Its time to coalesce as a party. Schumer and Jefferies just threw the best two years we had to fight fascism to a pit and lit it on fire. But now, now Woke is back baby!, and Woke 2 gonna make your head spin. We need to see Platner, Mandami, Al Sayed (inshalah), Chris Rabb, All three of Mamdani's endorsees on one stage. Schumer and Jefferies spoiled our ability to present a coherent front of resistance against fascism. That changes in November.
MAM-dani!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kobjY6CZJN0
I believe in redemption and I think everyone should. We all grow as people, that should be celebrated.
I think that it is okay to be entitled to wanting better representation than him. He's definitely not perfect, not by a long shot, and there are certainly warning signs about him. You're right in that people change. They can be better. He may very well be much better than he was, and he definitely looks like he is so far. But, his changing for the better doesn't have to put him in a position of power, either. Because it is also entitlement that he wants to be Senator with the type of baggage he has. But, I can't say there is currently a better candidate than him right now.
That's the way I see it, anyway. I will hope he continues to be a progressive force, and that my doubts are unfounded!
I don't believe he didn't know what the tattoo was but he gets the benefit of the doubt as long as he keeps putting his money where his mouth is.
I was drunk as fuck on habu saki, 18 years old, in Okinawa one night on shore, in line with four other sailors to get tattoos. I dont remember what happened after that.
Did you proceed to have an obvious nazi tattoo on your chest for a decade and change? Because that's a big blind spot and a bad look. Like, he's better than Collins and he's saying the right stuff, but I won't trust him until he's proven himself. You don't get a nazi tattoo for years and years and not deserve a lot of extra scrutiny. He's got a lot of work to do.
Dude it's not an obvious Nazi tattoo when 9 out 10 of the people here couldn't pick the fucking tattoo out of a lineup.
You're being wildly ridiculous.
The people here aren't observant. It's literally the goddamn emblem on the SS cap. If you've seen a movie featuring nazis ever, you've seen the totenkopf. What's wildly ridiculous is every goddamn body making excuses for a fucking Nazi capital N Nazi tattoo. I keep saying he's certainly better than Collins because the bar is in fuckin hell but none of you fuckin people actually read that part, you're all too busy defending a fuckin nazi tattoo. Our options here are that he's oblivious enough to have a nazi tattoo on his chest for twenty fucking years, or he's obviously fucking lying about not knowing it was a nazi tattoo and never cared to do anything about it until it got public. These are shit options, but yeah, still better than Collins. Stop fuckin making excuses for Nazi tattoos, like fuckin hell I know lemmings love fascism but christ but maybe not make excuses for the fuckin poster child. Congratulations, now you also have comments defending nazi tattoos. This is why Americans fucking deserve the government we have. We ask for it, because apparently holding someone to account for a fucking Nazi tattoo is too much for you fucking people. I'd have a lot more respect for the fucker if he just admitted he was a dumb fucking kid that didn't think it was a big deal instead of lying about knowing what it was.
I honestly could see him not knowing, especially if the other fascist fucks he was hanging out with were getting the same ink.
But that's a "makes bad decisions" discussion rather than a "maybe it's not as Nazi as you think" discussion.
It's totally, 110% Nazi. The only remaining question is "did it represent his views then, and does it represent his views now?"
Nope. Just woke up on the sub with a shiner and a bank account that had been completely drained, neither of which I had an explanation for.
Yeah and this is the point I made about giving people space to have changed. Mainers have had that kind of grace, and if you believe in grass-roots democracy, you should trust them at this point. And its funny because I make the point, people seem to nod their heads along, and then always, there is some chirper who wants to pipe in and say "not good enough". And its really a catastrophic sickness in the current leftist populist moment in the US, which we can easily contrast with the rightwing populist moment (both started at the same time).
The rightwing movement has been inclusive, and the leftwing movement has been exclusive; and because of that difference in ideology, the rightwing movement took over for the previous 10 years and enacted their agenda: fascism. And you (and others) are doing it right here. Your trying to find a way to exclude someone from the movement. Rightwing populism has been doing the opposite. When they identify someone who could be an ally, they find a way to make a seat for them at the table. Its a horrible, fascist, disgusting table, but its been able to grow its membership because they'll take all comers and speak to how their movement will address their grievances.
The entire point being made is that the very thing you are doing is a self-destructive, reactionary tendency which has knee-capped our ability to grow a leftist populism which can confront fascism. And I wont' deny there are other factors to surmount in this regard, but this self-sabotaging instinct is fundamental to why things have been so difficult. Thankfully though, as the movement has grown, this voice of yours which is typically online, and very disconnected from lived experience, its volume becomes lost in the crowd.
The very thing I'm doing is not implicitly trusting a man that claims he didn't realize he had a nazi tattoo on his chest for twenty years. A nazi tattoo that he says he got in Croatia and it's a fair assumption that wasn't the only displayed nazi iconography there. And everyone who's seen him shirtless for twenty years to also not have any idea. Like, I'd rather he just admit to having known what it was because otherwise he and his circle have a significant amount of ignorance that's especially relevant when actual nazis are getting elected. I'm not being unreasonable or self destructive here. Until he proves with significant action otherwise, I'm going to assume he's the kinda guy that would get a nazi tattoo, because he did. Army bullshit is still a bullshit excuse. I'm giving him all the grace he deserves, which is enough for him to win the primary innit? But talk is cheap from anyone, especially someone who had a death's head on their tit for twenty years and still claims to not know what it was. So when he gets elected and starts backing up his words, he'll get the credit that's absolutely due. Sure people can change, but the burden of proof to show with actions consistently that they have changed is on them.
Like honestly, you get that what you say doesn't matter because you can't convince people of your perspective right?
Your lack of grace is why no one cares about your bad faith attacks. It's obvious.
"You're a Nazi because I'm too daft to understand context or nuance" is the best he can do.
Christ, and I thought MY autism was weapons-grade.
Oh it's coming out now. Tell me me more about supporting candidates who are looking to cut off all aid to Israel is antisemitic
Y'all are way too heated. Go to your corners and cool off for 24 hours.
Platner has a good shot at becoming president.
And then you turn directly to anger and insults?
LOL which Republican candidate do you work for?
Y'all are way too heated, go to your corners for 24 hours and cool off.
I do. That doesn't mean I'd take the risk of voting for someone like you. No offense. But I don't believe you or trust you and I never will.
Or that I wouldn't openly question massive red flags like Nazi tattoos.
And to pretend that the US military has been anti fascist at all since the end of WW2 is a joke and I'd say I'm surprised people here are upvoting it, but then again I'm familiar with how desperate people on here are for literally anyone to even pretend they're a leftist.
Thanks for demonstrating the "lacks a coherent theory of change" in practice. Nothing better than a worked example to make the point.
Thankfully this kind of opinion is relegated to the terminally on line and is basically non-existent in the real world. No positive social change could happen if we don't give people space to change.