I find is very interesting that the same privileged young white men

[SocialDemocrat61]

Last edited Thu Oct 23, 2025, 12:20 PM - Edit history (1)

who accused Kamala Harris, a black woman, of genocide and being a war criminal are now defending Graham Platner, another white man, for having a Nazi tattoo.
Can't any of them see how full of crap they are?

EDIT: Just to be clear, I’m not referring to anyone here at DU. I’m talking about posts that I’ve seen on other platforms like blue sky and threads.

[Aristus]

1. My thing is: what was he doing getting a Nazi tattoo in the first place?

Big fan of the Holocaust, was he?

[doc03]

4. I have lived in a red area of a red state for 77 years, for the most part

that is who they are. When I grew up the language Archie Bunker and George Jefferson used was common. They have
toned that down some in public but it is still used in private.

[Aristus]

6. Language is one thing.

Getting a tattoo is a gesture of commitment.

[Americanme]

36. Sometimes.

Many, many, many people just want to get tattooed, they don't have any particular tattoo in mind. They go to the shop, browse the designs, find one that looks cool, and get it.

[Skittles]

81. I hate it when these racist assholes assume I am racist too

I NEVER stay silent, I call them out - LOUDLY

[Easterncedar]

5. I am not keen on another candidate with this history

Formerly drunk, depressed ex-serviceman with PTSD. But he’s got a redemption story that seems genuine enough and he’s professes, quite intelligently, a strong, liberal socialist and kind, very kind, philosophy now. Folks who hear him speak are impressed and, up to now, were really enthusiastic.

They are feeling very much let down.

The history has probably sunk him, but his message is worth carrying forward. I would like Mills, a pragmatic centrist, to face a liberal challenger.

[meadowlander]

35. His story is he didn't know that it was a Nazi tattoo.

He was a drunk young man out getting tattoos with his friends, thought getting a skull and crossbones tattoo was badass and found out years later it was linked to the Nazis.

[Ritabert]

53. Well that indicates he's not smart enough for the job

[meadowlander]

59. Or at least that he wasn't 18 years ago.

I'm not here to defend him. I don't live in Maine. I'm keen to see a candidate who can beat Susan Collins. Let's have a primary and see who that candidate is.

But I do think we need to come to grips with the fact that future generations of Democratic politicians grew up in the age of the Internet and that if our standard is "you cannot ever in your life have done anything or said anything that will look questionable by the standards 50 years in the future and ever run for any office" and their standard is "anything goes as long as you're loyal to Trump" then we're going to run out of candidates before they do. And unless Chuck Schumer has been sitting on the secret to immortality, it's time for the 75+ year old Democratic leaders to start thinking about their exit strategy and how they can support the next generation of leaders.

If he's acknowledged that it was wrong and apologised and can show that now, 18 years later, that isn't who he is anymore then I think we need to make space for people who are on a journey to show us that they have learned from the mistakes.

[uponit7771]

73. Same, I'd be looking at his body of work sense then as a marker

[MorbidButterflyTat]

74. Agree.

I wonder has he shown any Nazi tendencies, like, kidnapping people off the streets and disappearing them, speaking like a dictator, and otherwise behaving like a MAGAt Republican.

I really do wonder about the mythical perfect Democrat who has never ever said or done anything the least bit questionable and where this person might be found.

[MichMan]

77. He made homophobic statements 6-9 years ago when he was in his mid 30's

https://www.advocate.com/politics/graham-platner-homophobic-posts

[uponit7771]

72. He says he had military and secret service checks before and they didn't bring it up as a flag

[leftstreet]

2. How do you know they're the same people?

wtf

[SocialDemocrat61]

13. By reading their feed

[Celerity]

16. Post the feeds' actual evidence . You made the claim, show the receipts. TIA

[SocialDemocrat61]

18. I'm not accusing anyone here

I'm talking about other platforms like bluesky and threads.

[Celerity]

20. Those are the feeds I meant. Non DU. We don't have feeds on DU.

[SocialDemocrat61]

22. Are you saying that I'm lying?

That absolutely no one who called Harris a war criminal is now defending Planter?
Well here is a post of someone who’s also calling this out

Post by @j2l6s2022

View on Threads

Are they lying too?

[Celerity]

40. Asking for receipts is hardly the same as me calling you a liar. As for your Threads link, who's that rando replying to?

They are just tossing out the same framing.

[SocialDemocrat61]

41. So you're saying

no one who ever accused Harris of being a war criminal is now defending the Nazi tattoo?

[Celerity]

46. I only asked for some examples backing up your specific claim. I already (before this colloquy with you) stated my

my opinion on Platner (and Sanders refusing to un-endorse him) here on DU:

[SocialDemocrat61]

47. Why?

Why do you need examples to back up my claim unless you doubt it? And I wasn’t referring to Sanders.
From the threads post I linked and the responses to it, I’m not the only person who has seen this.
Also, I never brought up your opinion on Platner, I wouldn’t question that.

[Celerity]

48. I asked because you made an OP regarding a specific claim. nt

[SocialDemocrat61]

49. And you don't believe the claim?

You don’t trust me and think I made something up.

[Celerity]

50. I always reserve the right here, as a DU poster, to ask for reciepts when a claim is made. It's the way a discussion

board should work, at least the way it should work in my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

[SocialDemocrat61]

51. So you do think that I'm lying

As well as all those other people on threads.

[Celerity]

52. I already stated (and absolutely stand by it) that asking for receipts does not equate to calling someone a liar. That's

projection via a loaded framing technique that I am now done engaging with.

Done here.

[SocialDemocrat61]

54. Maybe so

I have never asked someone to provide a link to prove something unless I think what they are claiming is not accurate. So you’ll have to forgive me for trusting other DU members instead of automatically assuming that they are lying. But whatever works for you.

[leftstreet]

19. Prove it n/t

[SocialDemocrat61]

24. You're free not to believe me?

Why are you so threatened?

[leftstreet]

25. Why are you scolding DUers?

I'm guessing there are very few "privileged white males" here

The DUers who've supported Platner did so because of his populist economic message. That support has been wobbling with each new revelation of his past actions. None of them have called Harris a "war criminal"

Your only evidence is dragging crap here from Threads.

Eww. Why are you hanging out on rightwing forums?

[SocialDemocrat61]

28. I'm not

I'm referring to people on other platforms like bluesky and threads. Sorry that I didn't clarify that.

[leftstreet]

32. Maybe redo your OP

"I notice on other forums, like the rightwing Threads,that the same privileged young white men" blah, blah, blah


Most members here would probably roll their eyes and say "well Duh"

[SocialDemocrat61]

33. Good suggestion

I just did. Thanks.

[Easterncedar]

3. What a strange straw man argument

Does Mills really need your help?

[SocialDemocrat61]

14. Has nothing to do with Mills

It has to do with the hypocrisy of people who openly supported Jill Stein because Harris was a "war criminal" and are now twisting themselves into a pretzel to defend a nazi tattoo.

[Bettie]

26. Um, I don't think you'll find any

Jill Stein voters here....or anti-Harris people.

So, who are you yelling at?

[SocialDemocrat61]

29. Sorry I wasn't referring to anyone here

I was talking about what I've seen on other platforms.

[Cha]

63. Not only a Nazi Tat but All the other

revelations that have come out about Planter.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220742024

Although I've seen Planter has lost at least one supporter over this latest.

[SocialDemocrat61]

66. Think he's lost more than one

But there is a small group of mainly white males who are defending him yet accused Harris of being a war criminal.

[Quiet Em]

7. It's exhausting.

You have the younger white men pushing this terrible candidate with his awful baggage, and then you have older white men pushing Cuomo and his awful baggage. Then you have white men in general still approving of the con artist.

[SocialDemocrat61]

17. I'm an older white man

and voted for Mamdani in the primary and will in the election. I haven't voted for Cuomo for 15 years. I quickly saw him for what he was and how he was betraying his father's legacy.

[Quiet Em]

21. I did not mean you, specifically. I know you are a good guy.

I mean that is who Cuomo is intentionally targeting and that is the demo that is responding to him.

[uponit7771]

71. RIGHT!!! Few of the out group denigration is an deal breaker either...

... cause we have some unsympathetic people to deal with.

[OLDMDDEM]

8. They don't care. Their leader soesn't care, only about himself.

[tritsofme]

9. There is definitely a great deal of overlap here.

[TheProle]

10. Yes, it's shocking that a movement so anti-semitism adjacent

would be more forgiving of symbols that are so anti-semitism adjacent .

In other news, water discovered to be wet.

[JoseBalow]

65. I like the part where people pretend that DUers are exempt

Newsflash, it's not just "privileged young white men."

[betsuni]

102. That's for sure.

[gulliver]

11. People confuse anarchy mongering for hypocrisy

Yesterday, I was actually seeing people who wear the progressive T-shirt apparently turning on Bernie over Platner. Then I remembered that for many of these people, the shirt is probably just a shirt. They can't look at a window without wanting to break it. If you try to see them as hypocrites, you'll just confuse yourself.

[SocialDemocrat61]

15. There were people who turned on Sanders

and AOC because they endorsed Biden last year.

[Quiet Em]

23. They turn on AOC all the time.

They can't stand that they can't control her.

On that note, AOC is wisely ignoring Platner. She did endorse Mamdani.

[SocialDemocrat61]

34. Some have even turned on Mamdani

The purity police take no prisoners.

[betsuni]

38. They'll really turn on him when he's Mayor, a politician doing the job instead of their projected fantasy.

"Disappointed" will begin when nothing changes overnight.

[Keepthesoulalive]

42. New York is ungovernable

I think the last effective mayor Robert Wagner, before him it was Fiorello La Guardia. New Yorkers have so many different needs and ethnicities no one is going to get everything they want and don’t get me started on big money gumming up the gears.

[SocialDemocrat61]

43. To me the biggest problem is

the Police Union. They refuse to accept any reform or accountability for the actions of any police officer.

[Keepthesoulalive]

45. The police department in New York

Gang mentality, nepotism and pay to play. The New York City police department is a protector of the status quo and rich and influential. No one can penetrate that blue wall and if you try you will not be re elected.

[betsuni]

101. Complaining about the mayor seems like a popular NYC pastime!

[Keepthesoulalive]

104. They didn't clear the snow quickly enough after a big storm

I think it was John Lindsay. That was the end of him.

[markodochartaigh]

39. While this is true,

many "people" on all social media platforms are trolls. They may be paid or just do it for their own reasons to advance their own agenda.
And just because we see comments on social media we can't extrapolate that there are any certain number of real people, much less real voters, who believe those things in the real world.

I'm sure that we all know actual Democratic voters who said that they would stay home if Bernie, Hillary, Biden, or Harris were the candidate but the actual numbers of those voters were much less than the voters disenfranchised and gerrymandered by Republicans.

[SocialDemocrat61]

44. Yes there are many trolls

but there are also real people who are doing this. And there were plenty of voters who stayed home last year so I don't think they should be ignored, trolls or not.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

79. Paid or advancing their own agenda

or just for kicks.

[markodochartaigh]

87. "...just for kicks."

Indeed. I was raised in a particularly hate-filled area of Texas. I was in my twenties before I realized that there were people who took pleasure in destroying and causing pain, not out of hate but simply for their own pleasure. I had just taken it for granted that such people always had a prejudice to "justify" their actions.
I've since met many people who hate lgbtq+ people, but who are not religious.

[mcar]

12. Bingo!

[nycbos]

27. It mind numbing hypocrisy.

But there is a deeper reason. On the far left antisemitism is an acceptable form of prejudice.

[Behind the Aegis]

60. There's that and the "age thing".

Mills is 77 and will be 83 at the end of her term (maybe 84). Sanders was 83 this last cycle and will be 89 at the end of his term.

[nycbos]

64. Indeed

There gotta be better options than both of them

[MorbidButterflyTat]

80. Who? Where?

Someone of appropriate and acceptable youth has gotta be willing and able to go through the Democratic Purity Test(s). That's asking a lot.

[Celerity]

68. Mills will be 85yo at the end of her first term. If she wins she'll be the oldest elected freshman Senator in US history

[Blue Full Moon]

30. Nothing burger go attack MAGA or maybe Fetterman.

[SocialDemocrat61]

37. I'll criticize anyone I like

as is my 1st amendment right.

[Emile]

84. I think all this shit stirring was started by Susan Collins.

[DoBW]

88. Yeah, same kind of Roger Stone "consultant" type sh*t

Bernie seems all in tho

[Keepthesoulalive]

31. They don't want change

They want power. Their supposed grievances center around being powerless and not the center of the universe. They champion a certain candidate, I will not mention his name and when he doesn’t win they vote for trump. They do not care about women other than that they be subservient nor do they care about minorities. 4 Chan, unite the right and so many other incel groups are disaffected white males.

[Patton French]

55. There's a lot of odd support for a person with a Nazi tattoo who engages in homophobic slurs.

Not sure what to make of it.

[Torchlight]

56. Sounds serious

Good luck

[SocialDemocrat61]

57. Thanks

[BlueTsunami2018]

58. People support Platner because he has the correct policy positions.

Where he stands now, what he’s running on, is more important to people than some tattoo he got years ago with his friends in the military. Hell, most of the people complaining about this didn’t even know what it was until they were told about it. Even he didn’t know it resembled the Death’s Head. It’s not like he ever was an avowed Nazi, it’s just a cool looking design.

It’s doesn’t make you “full of crap” to recognize this.

[SocialDemocrat61]

61. What about those who accused

Harris of being a war criminal? And defending protesters on her book tour?

[Rob H.]

76. They can criticize anyone they like

as is their First Amendment right (goes for the protestors, too).

[SocialDemocrat61]

78. And we can criticize them for their hypocrisy

And their obvious racism and sexism.

[BlueTsunami2018]

86. I think calling her a war criminal was a bit much.

Considering she wasn’t the President and had no control over the situation. However, she didn’t call out the genocide in Gaza for what it is and I don’t believe she has to this day. She also refused to have a Palestinian speaker at the convention. Which led people to believe that the policy wouldn’t change much from what it had been under President Biden. And, quite frankly, it probably wouldn’t have. She wasn’t going to cut Israel off or condemn them in a meaningful way. Obviously, there wouldn’t have been talk of beachfront resorts and the like but that doesn’t really matter to the people of Gaza, they’d still be getting bombed to smithereens, although perhaps on a slightly lesser level as they worked toward a “ceasefire.” The foreign policy in that area doesn’t really change that much from administration to administration. Because it can’t.

As for protesting her now at book signings, it serves little purpose. It’s obvious she’s still clinging to the possibility of a further career in politics and she’s just not going to say anything to upset the apple cart in the Middle East. She can’t. Not if she wants to count on the kind of fundraising it takes to mount a national campaign.

It comes down to the reason we support Israel so staunchly in the first place. It has nothing to do with “democracy” or “the rapture” or “protecting Jewish people from their enemies” and everything to do with having a footing in the area to protect the trade routes, to protect capitalism. That’s all it is, money. If they were located somewhere in the middle of Africa, we wouldn’t give a shit about them any more than we care about Darfur or Congo or any of those other countries where genocide is ongoing.

I think Harris knows what’s right and would probably love to do what’s right but she can’t/couldn’t. And neither can anyone who wins the Presidency because the system we live under can not, will not allow it.

[SocialDemocrat61]

90. She didn't refuse to have a Palestinian

speak at the convention. There was only one elected Palestinian democrat that would endorse Harris but she refused to condemn Hamas.

[BlueTsunami2018]

93. Yeah, they did.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/politics/pro-palestinian-democrats-say-their-request-for-a-speaker-at-dnc-rejected-after-weeks-of-negotiations


What about the rest of it? Do you think the policy would have changed in a meaningful way? Do you think the policy can change in a meaningful way? Considering why we so ardently defend Israel and all.

[SocialDemocrat61]

94. Yes because they wouldn't endorse Harris

No one gets to speak at the convention unless they endorse the nominee. Only one was willing to endorse Harris, but she wouldn’t condemn Hamas.

And the main point of the op is the hypocrisy of people who call Harris a war criminal and are now defending a Nazi tattoo. There is no justification to call Harris a war criminal or to defend a Nazi tattoo.

[Rob H.]

98. Harris was asked point-blank if she could think of anything she would have done differently than Biden

and she said no. Given that at that point Biden had for months been working assiduously (to the point of doing end runs around Congress) to bury Israel in funding and military equipment which was then used on Gaza, it's absolute lunacy to have expected any Palestinian or Muslim to endorse her.

Here's the speech that the DNC refused to allow Georgia state Representative Ruwa Romman to give:

My name is Ruwa Romman, and I’m honored to be the first Palestinian elected to public office in the great state of Georgia and the first Palestinian to ever speak at the Democratic National Convention. My story begins in a small village near Jerusalem, called Suba, where my dad’s family is from. My mom’s roots trace back to Al Khalil, or Hebron. My parents, born in Jordan, brought us to Georgia when I was eight, where I now live with my wonderful husband and our sweet pets.

Growing up, my grandfather and I shared a special bond. He was my partner in mischief—whether it was sneaking me sweets from the bodega or slipping a $20 into my pocket with that familiar wink and smile. He was my rock, but he passed away a few years ago, never seeing Suba or any part of Palestine again. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.

This past year has been especially hard. As we’ve been moral witnesses to the massacres in Gaza, I’ve thought of him, wondering if this was the pain he knew too well. When we watched Palestinians displaced from one end of the Gaza Strip to the other I wanted to ask him how he found the strength to walk all those miles decades ago and leave everything behind.

But in this pain, I’ve also witnessed something profound—a beautiful, multifaith, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition rising from despair within our Democratic Party. For 320 days, we’ve stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety. That’s why we are here—members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and dignity for all. What we do here echoes around the world.

They’ll say this is how it’s always been, that nothing can change. But remember Fannie Lou Hamer—shunned for her courage, yet she paved the way for an integrated Democratic Party. Her legacy lives on, and it’s her example we follow.

But we can’t do it alone. This historic moment is full of promise, but only if we stand together. Our party’s greatest strength has always been our ability to unite. Some see that as a weakness, but it’s time we flex that strength.

Let’s commit to each other, to electing Vice President Harris and defeating Donald Trump who uses my identity as a Palestinian as a slur. Let’s fight for the policies long overdue—from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a ceasefire in Gaza. To those who doubt us, to the cynics and the naysayers, I say, yes we can—yes we can be a Democratic Party that prioritizes funding our schools and hospitals, not for endless wars. That fights for an America that belongs to all of us—Black, brown, and white, Jews and Palestinians, all of us, like my grandfather taught me, together.

The DNC let former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, an anti-choice Republican speak, but not Romman. Think about that.

[SocialDemocrat61]

99. So that makes Harris a war criminal?

And she should still be protested by people who are defending a nazi tattoo?

[Renew Deal]

62. Do you have any examples?

[SocialDemocrat61]

67. Here's one

Post by @turnerarrington

View on Threads

Read the whole thread
And others have called this out to

Post by @j2l6s2022

View on Threads

[MorbidButterflyTat]

82. OMG

I was just this minute wondering what turnerarrington and j2l6s2022 had to say about this issue!!!

[SocialDemocrat61]

85. Good one

[H2O Man]

95. Influencers, they are.

They carry the very cross q-anon once wore.

[Quiet Em]

69. He's running on White Male Identity, not class

This editorial sums up my view on him and what he is really about.

https://www.editorialboard.com/a-nazi-tattoo-cant-keep-a-good-white-man-down/

[Blasphemer]

83. Exactly why Sanders "identity politics" dog whistle was such BS. nt

[betsuni]

100. Absolutely.

[uponit7771]

70. There are people here that doesn't have the tattoo as a deal breaker

[ProfessorGAC]

89. I Know I'm Being Old Fashioned, But...

...the ostentatious tattoo was a red flag to me even it wasn't a Nazi image.
If it were the standard pirate skull & crossbones I'd consider a US senate candidate to have better judgment than to have a softball sized tattoo on the chest.
Now add the Nazi connection and I couldn't support him against any other dem.

[uponit7771]

91. Yeah, I have to know how other stances... If he has a decent history of being progressive I'd give him a chance

[ProfessorGAC]

92. I Understand

But, I have to believe there are other dems in Maine who have positions I can support that don't have all these self-inflicted wounds.

[uponit7771]

103. ...and red flags, sounds like he used to be a chode

[H2O Man]

96. Yes, but

what is his favorite flavor of ice cream? That is a huge issue that really needs to be addressed, for it is at very least as important as the OP's issue of the sky falling. Disorganized minds want to know.

[Maru Kitteh]

97. Haven't read the replies yet but WOW! I bet this one cut close to the bone!