[nixon_why69]

It's not like it's a swastika, it was a skull and crossbones that turns out to have been used by the SS (I think?). I had no idea that particular image was nazi-related and I don't think most other people would have either. As far as "mistakes made by marines on shore leave" go it's pretty mild. Honestly his more recent scandals are more concerning as far as character.

Platner's upside is being a senator that's not from the student senate -> Hill staffer -> party insider pipeline. We're all pretty much sick of that character, he sounds much more authentic by comparison.

[WickyNilliams]

It's an extremely well known nazi symbol. Probably second behind the swastika itself. There's even that famous "are we the baddies" meme, which uses that symbol as a central pillar of the gag.

[nielsbot]

I'm pretty online, I've seen that skit and I to this day don't really know what a totenkopf looks like. I'd never heard the word before this Platner business either. Surprising you're saying it's well-known. Am I in some kind of bubble?

[WickyNilliams]

Hmm I don't know. Other comments are suggesting that unless you're well studied in nazi symbolism you'd never know. I think I learnt about this in high school history class. I wonder if there's a European/American divide on this topic (I am European)

I think it is probably useful for people to familiarise themselves with Nazi symbolism though. You would be surprised how often you encounter people online using these obscure symbols, knowing most people won't recognise them.

[CapricornNoble]

Hard for me to judge your bubble-ness, as I'm in a different bubble of ....I dunno, a recovered former Wehraboo? Those people who "study WW2" mostly to edge themselves about how militarily successful the Nazis were. I include a large part of the US military officer corps in this category, where quoting dead German generals is normalized. I had a copy of "The Cruel Hunters"[1] before I left high school back in 2001, so of course I know what a totenkopf is, and it's shocking to me that most people don't.

EDIT: And if I had to pick a Nazi symbol I think most people don't recognize, I'd go with the Black Sun.[2]

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Cruel-Hunters-SS-Sonderkommando-Dirle...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sun_(symbol)

[throwaway85825]

Dirlewanger became a meme because it was such an extreme case.

[KumaBear]

Really I have show it to several people and asked them what it was. Not one identified it as a nazi tattoo. To make such a bold claim it’s extremely well known is an exaggeration at best. What matters most is do you believe he has a nazi ideology? If the answer is no then I think it’s just a stupid debate to begin with.

[utdoctor]

Not even just that, the main villain (Amon Göth) in Schindler’s List (which won Best Picture) has it on his uniform throughout the film.

It’s not like it’s some obscure icon.

[nixon_why69]

If the bones are a little longer, it's a Jolly Roger. If the teeth were longer, it would be a punisher skull. If it weren't turned at that particular angle it would just be a generic skull. If it were 2 angular lightning bolts, it would obviously be SS but a skull is really common in a lot of contexts.

If you happened to clock this particular skull shape as a symbol from an SS division, then congrats, but 95% of people just would not and that's why it didn't land as a scandal. Everyone said "Huh. I didn't know either." and then accepted "Marine gets dumb skull tattoo while drunk on shore leave" as a fairly normal thing to have happened.

[utdoctor]

If I had wheels I’d be a bicycle. I don’t see your point? It’s very obvious what it is and just because you can alter an icon to make it look like something else doesn’t change what it is.

Ignorance of something doesn’t change what it is. “Oops I accidentally had a Nazi for nearly 20 years and only had it covered up 9 months ago when it became a political liability” isn’t a good look to say the least.

[nixon_why69]

My point is that it's not very obvious what it is unless you are super studied in Nazi symbology. I thought I was clear but there it is in case I wasn't.

If this were a swastika, the SS lightning bolts or even the Iron Cross, yeah, that looks pretty Nazi. Instead it's a skull and crossbones just like every other one used all over the place, including the very cool jolly roger, except this one happens to be Nazi. I didn't know, most people didn't know, he can credibly say he didn't know, and we all think the jolly roger's cool. Dog's not gonna hunt.

[WickyNilliams]

I am not super studied in nazi symbology. I learnt about this symbol in high school history class btw.

It is not a regular skull and crossbones anymore than the iron cross (which you identify as nazi symbolism) is a regular cross. It's strange to insist on the former, while distinguishing the latter as obviously nazi.

[utdoctor]

“My point is that it's not very obvious what it is unless you are super studied in Nazi symbology”

Or if you ever played a WWII themed video game (Wolfenstein, Call of Duty), or if you’ve ever watched a WWII show like Band of Brothers or watched a major WWII movie like Schindlers List or Saving Private Ryan. I could go on, it’s prominent in nearly any WWII media.

Honestly, I don’t know if people toting the line saying it’s “obscure” are intentionally lying because he aligns with their political agenda or are completely oblivious to any level of detail in any media.

It’s really astonishing.

[joe_mamba]

>which won Best Picture

And that's relevant how?

[utdoctor]

Because it demonstrates it’s not some obscure piece of history that only WWII buffs would know.

A major film with one of the most acclaimed directors of all time that won the highest award you can win as a movie had the icon featured prominently on the main villain’s uniform throughout the nearly 4 hour movie. Come on my guy.

[subpixel]

It’s the opposite of obscure - it’s commonplace. It’s a skull and crossbones. It’s not a swastika. It’s a nothing burger.

[jjk166]

> Probably second behind the swastika itself.

Definitely not. SS bolts, the nazi eagle, the iron cross, the fasces, hitler's mustache, etc are all immensely more recognizeable.

The fact that in the skit they say "we've got skulls on our caps" rather than referring to the actual symbol or even accurately describing it tells you the lack of general familiarity. We all know Nazi's had skulls on their caps, no one knows there are even crossed bones there, nonetheless the particular styling. Normal people don't closely examine Nazi uniforms. Further, this is a comedy sketch playing up the absurdity of the situation for laughs; in reality it was not a Nazi symbol of how evil they were, it was a symbol that had been used in the Prussian and other German armies for centuries and then the Stormtroopers of WW1. In the interwar period it was used by the Freikorps and eventually by the SS, trying to invoke that same imagery. It has become a hate symbol well known amongst white supremacists, but not the general population.

[thisislife2]

Not an American here, but I too never knew the skull and bones symbol is somehow associated with the Nazis. So I would disagree that it is "extremely well known".

[sbayg]

Neither did a lot of nazis, that’s the reason the Mitchell and Webb bit is so funny. Nazi’s are always the least self aware, by definition.

[cogman10]

He may have known, he may not have known. I think he likely knew much earlier than he reported.

All that said, he was very online and very much not an online Nazi. To me that matters a lot more than a bad tattoo.

There'd simply be a lot worse comments from his reddit history if his beliefs aligned with his tattoo. That, to me, is why it just doesn't matter.

[stymaar]

Yeah, it's not like he had a generic “skull with bone” tattoo (for which he could say it's a pirate flag or something), he had the literal “3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf” emblem:

Just compare both images:

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_SS_Panzer_Division_Totenko...

- https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/graham-platner-nazi-tattoo...

(That being said, I find the reaction from GOP-affiliated media and “influencers” very hypocritical, given that they were fine with Elon, then Steve Bannon, doing a Nazi salute on stage or MAGA people carrying Swastika flags in the street)

[dstanko]

Like Musk's salute

[stinkbeetle]

IIRC the experts debunked that disinformation.

Yes I remembered correctly https://x.com/ADL/status/1881474892022919403

[nielsbot]

The ADL is not a trustworthy source about what is and isn't anti-Semitism. Maybe they do point out actual incidents of anti-Semitism and true anti-Semites (which still exist in large numbers.) but they're unflinching support for Israel (a leading world cause of anti-Semitism) calls all their messaging into question.

[stinkbeetle]

When they go the other way and say something is not a nazi salute, that is pretty trustworthy. Especially of someone who they are quite critical of for other reasons.

Much more trustworthy than some internet crackpot conspiracy theorist, or the "trust me bro" people and groups whose political alignments compel them to also claim that Corey Booker's "nazi salute" wasn't, or that this guy's nazi tattoo is not a big deal, wouldn't you think?

[nielsbot]

I don’t find the ADL trustworthy in fact. Their Zionism is ruining my trust in them. Being pro-Israel is at odds with being against anti-Semitism.

[nemo]

Whatever that performance was, it certainly was not a debunking. The guy made a Nazi salute at CPAC, I saw it, there wasn't any ambiguity or question of intent. To me and everyone I know it was an obvious overt Nazi salute made in a context where it was clear that's what he was doing, esp. to me and my Jewish family members. The fact that the ADL stooped to what they did doesn't change reality, it just shows what a bunch of ghouls the ADL have become. Other Jewish orgs have been clear that this was a Nazi salute.

[stinkbeetle]

You're welcome to your opinion but I will trust the experts.

[ciconia]

The experts on what? Zionist lobbying?

[Tostino]

I'm just going to mark you in my mind as a Nazi apologist / sympathizer. You are pushing a real ugly world view there.

[woodruffw]

I would expect anybody who graduated with a 4 year degree in the US to be able to recognize a totenkopf. It's probably the third most well-known Nazi symbol, and is almost certainly present in any textbook or museum about WWII (besides being a symbol is fictional media about Nazi Germany).

However, I think this is beside the point. The more relevant questions are (1) whether Platner knew what it was, and (2) whether an informed voter should want someone who doesn't know the meaning of the things they get tattooed on their body. Authentic or not, (2) demonstrates a lack of good judgement to me.

(Separately, having been to that part of part of Slavic southern Europe, it is inconceivable that any tattoo parlor that would give you a totenkopf tattoo is not plastered in other Nazi and far-right iconography. You would need to actively look past all of the other Nazi stuff and assume that the skull is the one thing that doesn't have some additional meaning.)

[throawayonthe]

> I had no idea that particular image was nazi-related and I don't think most other people would have either

for context it's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopf#Nazi_Germany , i'm surprised so many people didn't know the nazi use

if platner really didn't know, i guess it just spoke to him as a (future?) blackwater mercenary

[nielsbot]

> if platner really didn't know, i guess it just spoke to him as a (future?) blackwater mercenary

Yes, correct. Despite that, if I lived in Maine, I'd wholeheartedly vote for him. Not sure why I shouldn't?

[JumpCrisscross]

> no idea that particular image was nazi-related and I don't think most other people would have either

He knew what it was [1]. That doesn't mean he's unelectable in 2026.

[1] https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/05/politics/graham-platner-cant-...

[nixon_why69]

I'm sure he figured it out at some point and should have had it covered up sooner, but I doubt he knew what it was when he got it.

Honestly, I'd be more concerned with someone who knows too much Nazi minutiae rather than too little.

EDIT: reading the CNN story, I'm actually less convinced, this is all coming from a conservative activist ex-girlfriend. Its a really obscure symbol and then there's this quote:

"Platner argued that he had the tattoo for 17 years without anyone raising concerns about Nazi symbolism, noting that he received a State Department security clearance, reenlisted in the Army after being screened for gang and hate-related tattoos, and regularly appeared shirtless around family members, including Jewish relatives."

[JumpCrisscross]

> I doubt he knew what it was when he got it

Sure, maybe. I'm doubtful. But that's irrelevant. He knew when he launched his campaign. He chose to keep it. Worse, there's a good chance his family and his staffers knew as well. This is Jill Biden covering up Joe Biden's dementia all over again, except this time for racism.

Platner is a rubbish candidate. But! There is a case to be made that he's better for America than Susan Collins.

[nixon_why69]

Did you recognize that skull as a Nazi symbol without being told? Like, "Oh, that's the Totemkompf"?

Personally, like I said, I think the more recent sexting thing is way more damaging to his brand. "Got a dumb tattoo on shore leave and posted dumb reddit comments 10 years ago" are fine for an everyman candidate, recent infidelity is not.

[Fizz43]

Plenty of people recognize that as a nazi symbol. Its why he covers it up in photos but leaves other tats uncovered. We only found out because of a leaked video from a personal event and someone inside his life confirming.

[JumpCrisscross]

> Did you recognize that skull as a Nazi symbol without being told?

Nope. But if you're sending your pics out, someone is going to come back to you with that feedback. In this case, we have someone who says they did that.

> the more recent sexting thing is way more damaging to his brand

Sure, why not. I don't think, at the end of the day, we have any evidence either is electorally relevant anymore.

[nixon_why69]

For the record, and I hope this isn't too forward, I respect your honesty and understand it's gotta be tough being a liberal zionist with everything that's going on. I respect it so much more than just going full Stephen Miller which I've seen some friends do.

[viking123]

I think people are really past the point of caring. The limousine liberals of course make a fuss but sitting on the high horse has not really served democrats that well, just taking L after L. And the sitting president is Epstein-Mossad pedofile and huge number still stand behind him without any shame.