Random thoughts about the SS Totenkopf "Death Head" symbol and tattoo...

[WarGamer]

First... any soldier in the last 25 years has played video games like the call of Duty series portraying WW2...

The "Totenkopf" symbol didn't start in WW2, it was an Imperial German symbol back into the 1800's... but was adopted as the direct representative of the SS... both the military and civilian side.

Remember this?

A group of "Scout Snipers" of the USMC thought an SS flag would be kinda cool...



So re: the Democratic candidate in ME... it's highly unlikely he really knew the social stigma surrounding the symbol... or even much about the history.

The ADL has commented on the topic acknowledging the possibility of a mistake and how it's important to show regret and understanding later.

So... it's a logo that was 100% related to the last image millions of people had in their eyes before death... it was the image that Russian civilians would peek out their windows to see if the soldiers in the streets had the standard Wehrmacht uniform or the SS Deaths Head logo...



And then it's also the symbol of the best tanks of 'World of Tanks" video game...

So... total condemnation... or will he be given a chance to talk about it?

I'm not a Mainer, so not my business...

[Blue Owl]

1. I like a good old fashioned ending for all Nazis

[EX500rider]

2. Getting it drunk on leave I can understand, keeping it for 18 years I can not. nt

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

3. This

Drunk and didnt realize at the time. Ok. To not know its a fucking totenkopf all this time, no. Nobody is that stupid or ignorant. And if they are, they shouldn't be a Senator either.

[markodochartaigh]

4. When someone from the Republican party,

which is certifiably reich-wing now, does a thing, their action is ignored or dismissed by Republicans and most of the media. Any criticism by Democratic politicians is ignored by Republicans and most of the media.

When a Democratic politician does the same thing they are pilloried by Republicans, most of the media and Democratic politicians.

Most of the US electorate doesn't pay much attention to any real issues, but for those who do pay attention, this is one way that the Democratic party is divided and the National Overton Window is moved to the right.

It isn't so much what the action was as it is that a Democratic politician did it.

[tritsofme]

8. Republicans embrace people with Nazi problems, so we should too?

That’s pretty fucked up, if you ask me.

[PufPuf23]

28. Some but not most Democrats consider actions of Israel in Gaza genocide.

That's pretty fucked up too.

I do not consider Platner a desirable candidate because of the tattoo and that he should have recognized the meaning.

Platner considers the actions on Gaza genocide.

I agree with Platner on the Gaza genocide but also hope the Democratic Party finds a better candidate for Senator in Maine.

[EdmondDantes_]

24. Given the recent blow up of the Young Republican group chat and those guys being fired

not the best time to be making that argument.

I don't know if Platner knew the meaning of the tattoo or not, but with that tattoo and the other stuff, a primary candidate stepping out of the race is hardly shifting the Overton Window to any meaningful degree. If the only possible Mainer who would fit the standards of the more liberal wing of the party is a guy who felt the need to denigrate blacks, women, gays, and had a (at best) questionable tattoo, that seems like a problem with that group of people. Surely there's another that doesn't have all the baggage.

[Melon]

36. It's not a questionable symbol that was somehow

Adopted by republicans, that they can then argue had a different meaning. It’s flat out a Nazi SS symbol.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. He can talk about it all he wants. For me, a nazi tattoo is a dealbreaker.

[Easterncedar]

6. Susan Collins loves this

Platner might have defeated her. I don’t think Mills will. I hope I am wrong.

[Emile]

10. All the shit stirring over Platner, probably can be sourced to her.

[Easterncedar]

13. Or, sadly, Mills. I hate thinking that.

[tritsofme]

21. I should hope Mills team wouldn't sit on such bombshells.

But whoever released the info did a great service to the Democratic Party.

There’s nothing that would have pleased Collins and Republicans more than if this all didn’t come out until after the primary.

Democrats dodged a huge bullet.

[DFW]

34. I can't speak for Janet's team, as I don't know them

But this kind of gutter fighting is just not her style, quite aside from whether it benefits her. She‘s pretty direct and straightforward. Anyone willing to tell Trump, „I‘ll see you in court“ to his face while the network TV cameras were rolling doesn‘t need to resort to propaganda wars of insinuation.

Frankly, Janet‘s time as governor, her willingness to stand up to Trump on camera, and a simple comparison to the Concern of Collins should be enough to send her to Capitol Hill

[Easterncedar]

45. Should be

But the right is running on men in girls’ locker rooms. You wouldn’t believe how weird and vile the language has been at rallies and school board meetings since Mills had that one exchange.

[DFW]

49. I haven't been in Maine or seen Janet recently, so I have no recent first hand news.

Portland is a ways from Paderborn.

[EX500rider]

16. Tricky of her to make him get a Nazi tattoo 18 years ago and post vile crap on Reddit....

Better this shit come out now then later IMO

[sheshe2]

26. Oh snap!

[Blasphemer]

30. Funny how women are being blamed for a White man's bigotry and poor judgment. nt

[niyad]

32. Telling, is it not?

[mcar]

38. Comes as no surprise to me

Some believe that white men can never be held responsible for their own actions.

[Keepthesoulalive]

57. Many white men in the Democratic Party

Think only in terms of economics and call themselves progressive. So women and others are not important to them. I don’t understand their definition of progressive.

[Dave says]

7. If he runs, we will lose.

[leftstreet]

12. Wait til people learn he's drawing 100% disability

With full VA medical

There's nothing wrong with that, but people can get VERY RILED about it

It's right there on his Wiki page, but it's slipping under the radar

[sheshe2]

31. I just looked it up.

How does he qualify for 100% disability?

I found this:

To qualify for 100% VA disability benefits, you must demonstrate total and permanent disability due to service-connected conditions, supported by thorough medical evidence.
Eligibility Criteria
Service-Connected Conditions: You must have a disability that is connected to your military service. This can be a single severe condition or a combination of multiple conditions that collectively impair your ability to function. Common conditions that may qualify include severe mental health disorders, loss of limbs, or other debilitating injuries.
2
Total Disability: The VA must determine that your disability is total, meaning it significantly impairs your ability to work or perform daily activities. This can be established through medical documentation that clearly outlines the severity of your condition and its impact on your life.
1
Permanent Disability: For a 100% rating, the VA typically requires that your condition is permanent, meaning it is not expected to improve over time. This can be indicated through ongoing medical evaluations and treatment records.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=how+does+one+qualify+for+100%25+va+disability+benefits&qs=GS&pq=how+does+one+qualify+for+100%25+va+disability&sc=12-43&cvid=D2F0FB5E268143D591F6CB6F51B759C0&FORM=QBRE&sp=1&lq=0

...........................................

I don't get it. He is a robust young man and is able to "oyster farm" and run for a Senate seat. How does he qualify?

Am I misunderstanding ?

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

40. VA disability ratings are.....special

As in they are all over the place. For one, and this is a big one, the formula they use isn't really medically based. Its based on laws and regulations dating back to the 1940s. So every injury or condition has a set criteria that must be met. These are set by law and regulation from decades ago. Doctors do not rate you, bureaucrats do. The whole system is a mess and just because someone is rated 100% disabled does not mean they are actually disabled, its just that the VA, through its archaic system, determined that their earning potential was reduced by 100% due to service related conditions. Also, there are 2 different 100% ratings, schedular rating, which has no work or income restrictions and total disability individual unemployability, which has work and income restrictions.

[sheshe2]

41. Thanks for the info, DLB, much appreciated.

[Emile]

9. The Germans also used the the Maltese Cross or Iron Cross.

The Maltese Cross - a sinister design?

[EX500rider]

17. Were either of those symbols used by the Death Camp guards? That makes this particularly vile IMO- YMMV

[DFW]

35. That is the distinction

The KZ guards of the SS didn‘t have the iron cross as a logo specific to them. German streets during the National Socialist era also used STOP signs on their streets. It didn‘t mean that other countries that used STOP signs were Axis members, collaborators or sympathizers.

[herding cats]

14. We can discuss this until we're blue in the face. It doesn't change anything

He's a liability. The tattoo is the least of it in my eyes. His Reddit post drove home who he really is and I don't like his words about our allies. My people. My loved ones.

There's even more than that going on with him. He honestly sucks as a candidate unless all you're looking at are his recent words about economics and his age. He has nothing else going for him beyond some high profile endorsements he truly doesn't deserve.

We can do better. Really, we can.

[Nixie]

15. Hmm, not so sure about the assumed casualness. A tattoo is

a physical process requiring ink injected by needles into your skin and a planned design. It’s not just posing by a flag. It’s a very intentional process.

[iemanja]

19. As is keeping it for many years.

[iemanja]

18. Did he know rape wasn't the victim's fault? Did he know not to disparage LGBT and Blacks?

As far as I can tell, there is no Democratic constituency he actually likes. Why should we give his Nazi tattoo a pass when it's accompanied by similarly minded statements?

[Jack Valentino]

23. There's a lot more room for doubt about the tattoo, than for the statements....

and IMHO the statements are of a lot more importance than the tattoo---
and not in a good way...

[JoseBalow]

20. A valiant defense

I remain unconvinced.

[Jack Valentino]

22. In the absence of the Nazi military hat and eagle-with-swastika,

I would never have recognized this particular "skull and crossbones"
as a particular "Nazi-owned" version of the symbol---

(I never spent much time studying various Nazi symbols....
I detest them, so why the fuck WOULD I study their symbols?!)

and I doubt a young drunken marine on leave did, either---
and he's now stated that he will have it removed. Ok.


However, the next day comes the story about his homophobic and misogynist Reddit posts,
and the day after that his upper-class family background, making the 'working class' theme ring a little hollow....

My enthusiasm has been cooled. Maine can do what it likes.

I admire Mr. Platner's audacity at challenging the sitting Republican senator of Maine---
but with no previous experience in office, and with the problems that have been coming out---
perhaps it would be more appropriate for him to challenge a state-level Republican legislator first.

[róisín_dubh]

27. I'm a historian and...

Absent the hat and swastika, I’d have never know what it was either. It looks like something you’d see in a medieval drawing or on an old headstone, removed from its awful modern context clues.
But it, combined with his online persona- trollish or not, youthful stupidity or not- is just way too much. We do not need nor want another Fetterman.

[Jack Valentino]

29. Regarding Fetterman---- and playing the 'devil's advocate' here--- mostly he's only

SAID some things that progressives and Democrats have not appreciated---

but his presence in the US Senate has supported the Democratic number---

and so far as I know, he has mostly supported the Democratic position
on most votes or nominees, and his ONE vote has NEVER made any difference---
(and we do still need that one Dem vote in PA, especially after we lost the other one in '24)...



THAT said, YES, the supposedly 'progressive' PA Senate candidate from 2022
has been PISSING ME the FUCK OFF! mostly from running his mouth too much---
and like I said, his few errant VOTES have never decided any issue against us---

but YEAH, he's been sounding like a Joe Manchin!



I'm not a Pennsylvanian, so solving any 'problem' is up to those there...
but I like many other Democrats are VERY disappointed with HIM....

[tblue37]

33. I think his personality was changed by that severe stroke. Strokes are known to affect the way people think.

[DFW]

37. I agree about the drunken marine on leave

However, I live in Germany. My father-in-law was Göring‘s „slob on a farm“ whose best hope in a war was „to come home in one piece.“ He was drafted off his farm at 17, sent to Stalingrad at 18, and returned home to his farm at 19. He was not in one piece. His fiery hate for the Nazis was personal.

My daughters went to elementary school here near Düsseldorf in a building that was the Gestapo headquarters during the war. The townspeople eventually renamed it the „Anne Frank Elementary School.“ So, here, people learn early what symbols represent.

I remember Jimmy Buffett‘s „Margaritaville“ and singing about his tattoo: „….a real beauty, a Mexican cutie, how it got there I haven‘t a clue.“ Someone like me might get it more so than a guy who had it on his chest, and only saw it in the mirror after a shower. You‘d think somebody would have recognized it and told him, but coastal Maine isn‘t Düsseldorf, so maybe not.

His running off at the mouth is serious, though. At least Gingrich was long out of office when he threatened to sue anyone who quoted what he had said the day before on the Sunday talk shows (!!!). Platner offered no such stunt, but his oddball utterances stretch over years. He‘d have to spend half his campaign time refuting them, and there are those minor matters of Trump, Putin, ICE, defense, the economy and foreign policy that do (or should) require any Senator‘s attention. If we don‘t need another Fetterman, we definitely don‘t need a Democratic version of Tommy Tuberville. For that matter, the Republicans seem to have decided that they don’t need their version of Tuberville, either. Whatever the real reason, and I‘m not convinced it‘s the shoo-in trip to the governor‘s mansion, he is not running for re-election.

Whether Maine’s nominee for Senate is Janet or not, it needs to be someone without embarrassing distractions that give the Republicans a free pass to point to them in oder to cover up the fact that the Republicans, themselves, „got nuthin‘“

[W_HAMILTON]

25. It's nice to see some come to the defense of a Democrat...

Last edited Fri Oct 24, 2025, 01:20 PM - Edit history (1)

...although I wish it weren't to defend their Nazi tattoo...

[mcar]

39. Ain't that the truth!

[DFW]

43. In this race, i unwaveringly support a Democrat.

Her name is Janet Mills.

[betsuni]

47. Good one.

IOKIYAE (It's OK If You're Endorsed)

[QueerDuck]

50. True.

Endorsed, anointed, chosen, blessed, touched.

We owe it to ourselves (and our nation) to have higher standards and to not accept anyone making excuses for Nazi symbolism, or rhetoric that's anti-gay, anti-trans, misogynistic, racist, etc etc. A haphazard endorsement does not absolve. Nor does a late-in-life coverup tattoo (when the meaning was known for YEARS and YEARS prior) and when so-called apologies are the equivalent of "I'm sorry you were offended" and sound forced or coerced only because they are politically expedient.

Vetting is important.

[BannonsLiver]

42. The call is coming from inside the house at this point

Last edited Fri Oct 24, 2025, 08:16 PM - Edit history (2)

.

[questionseverything]

48. What I find interesting in these discussions is how no one mentions

With both collins or mills, AIPAC wins

That’s really the reason for this coordinated attack against platner, he is not AIPAC approved.

[QueerDuck]

51. Oh good god... this shit again??

[Keepthesoulalive]

54. I see there are some that don't care about

Women , minorities or common decency. They only care if you mouth the word progressive and their minds turn to mush. He has done nothing to make anything better for anyone other than himself. I have asked what has he done to become a United States Senator. I think we have a problem in the Democratic community with males who don’t give a crap about anything but power. Please define progressive for me.

[QueerDuck]

59. It's quite the industry and apparently profitable too. Continually dipping into the donation well...

at a mere $27 a pop, it seems small, but over time it adds up. I'll never understand why anyone falls for the small print of "splitting" a donation either. With a heart-tugging plea to donate money to support some organization or a newly endorsed candidate, there's always a catch and a price to pay for using someone else's mailing list. The "donation split" gimmick is the vig for the privilege of being able to use a curated mailing list. But in the end, it's never quite as magnanimous or altruistic as it appears at first glance, when one considers that half of the donations are siphoned off and funneled back to the list owner. Renting/loaning mailing lists is a money-making business just like any other. It sounds very "establishment" to me and not very "progressive" at all. These things should be clearer and less opaque and confusing.

[Bread and Circuses]

52. Why do they need more tough guy symbols? Isn't the 🇺🇸 USA Flag Enough?

[SamuelTheThird]

53. It's not always nazi

I've seen some more underground bands use or wear it, not neccessarily right wing just edgy. its origin I think was with the writer D'annunzio, who was more an anarchist who fell in later with Italian fascists

I don't know what should be done about the current issue though.

[EX500rider]

56. But wearing a known SS tattoo on your chest for 18yrs makes one question his judgement IMO, "edgy" or not

[SamuelTheThird]

58. 18 years? Yeah, and then not removing it when going into politics

I don't know much about all this, maybe he's a plant

[bcbink]

55. It's a case of

IYKYK,
The people who are meant to know, know. They smirk at the ignorant. It is another nasty hidden signal right in our faces.