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What Graham Platner Said When a Trans Mainer Asked: 'Will You Stand Up for Me?'
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this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2025
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politics
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The purity test mentality so many of the commenters here have is the exact kind of nonsense that will keep the US divided politically. People are capable of making honest mistakes. People can change. There needs to be room for some gray areas. I generally think such a mindset reeks of being chronically online and being immersed into an echo chamber.
I don’t know much about the candidate other than a few recent headlines but I admire the ability of a person to change their mind. This is especially true for someone in politics. Idk if he is a dickhead or if he really changed, but its good to own up to our mistakes.
A few years ago I remember seeing folks online who were ranting about Elizabeth Warren having been a republican so I looked it up. After watching her speak on the matter I sort of turned into a big Warren supporter, because she was able to admit she was wrong after seeming the data. That’s what I want in a representative. I don’t want someone who ignore data or twist it into something else.
I want someone who says “oh shit. Let’s fix this.”
You people keep saying "purity test" because you don't want to say "I'm fine if my Senator has Nazi tattoos". Own it, bud. Make your case why you want the Senator with the Nazi tattoo. Say it with your full chest.
Yeah, my friend, we all agree that people are capable of honest mistakes. Some of us just don't vote for a Senator unless they at least waited a couple years after getting rid of all their Nazi tattoos. It's not a high bar.
I am not a Mainer but I've donated to Platner's campaign because I believe we need voices like his. Susan Collins and Janet Mills are two sides of the same coin, in the same way that all the old 'establishment' Democrats are similar to their 'moderate' Republican counterparts
Graham Platner is the right choice amongst the candidates in this race.
We need to elect candidates like Kat Abu and Abigail Spanberger and Zach Dembo and Darren McAuly and Maura Sullivan and Maggie Goodlander and Deb Halland and many other good, earnest, qualified candidates.
None of them are perfect candidates. None of them are perfect people.
But they are better, and we have to hope we can all get better, be better and do better together over time.
(disclaimer: unfortunately my real opinion is that we're actually totally fucking cooked as a country, and there's a solid chance that authoritarian fascism will be with us for a while
longer than my lifetime. I will continue to participate in the ways I'm capable and willing, but it's probably futile)
Yet, you still say "he's not perfect". You're an asshole.
He HAS A FUCKING TOTENKOPF on his chest. You want people to vote for SOMEONE WITH A NAZI TATTOO.
Love this response. I fully agree... (even with your last point, which has been looming in the back of my mind even as I rally for these promising candidates... if only this we had this two years ago... if only.)
I legit do not understand. Like even if someone believed it was an honest mistake, why can't people even admit that it's bad and SHOULD be disqualifying in a sane world? Like, you can say he's still better than Mills; I agree. But Jesus Christ in any other race, bro, what the fuck.
I think both things can be true in this case. People can admit that accidental Nazi tattoos should be disquailifying in a sane world, but also recognize that we are not currently in a sane world and that a person that got accidental Nazi tattoos is making a lot of sense in the current circumstances.
Fascists lie. You really want to elect another Fetterman or Sinema?
When someone tells you who they are by keeping a Nazi Tattoo on their chest for 20 years, believe them.
That second point seems to be forgotten when we talk about aspiring progressives. Fellas, a Reddit incel who called himself "Kekius Maximus" pulled a coup d'état with DC police in lock-step, then got pushed out of his leadership because of a scuffle with openly Nazi Stephen Miller. You know how this happened? Because the formerly far less popular Right-wing declared "No Enemies to the Right" and grabbed people with outreach that blatantly contradicts other members. Evangelicals and Incels. Kirk and Fuentes. Homophobes and #WalkAway Gay Republicans. Caitlyn Jenner endorsing Transphobes. Doctors backing RFK, Phil, Oz... We had Nazi Furries called "Burned Furs" (iirc) while school board hijackers whined about "unisex furry litterboxes".
I don't care about anything but policy at this point. I don't care if the man had a tattoo of Hitler sucking a penis. He got it covered up, and has years of posts about Socialism and calling out others for being racist. A Congressman could be fucking a waifu dakimakura bodypillow during their debate and I'd still rally if he'd get the homeless and poor fed and housed. We're too worried about seeming weird or "politically incorrect" in a world where the policy and decorum is merely an illusion.
There's still a year before the primary. This is ridiculous. You don't believe there is a single progressive person in Maine without any tattoos of Hitler sucking a penis?