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Much is being made of the social media history and tattoo of senatorial candidate Graham Platner by merchants of outrage. Headlines suggest that his post-military career Reddit activity may have sunk his once-promising candidacy, referring to posts he now characterizes as ” indefensible,” and says he made as he suffered from PTSD in his twenties to mid-thirties (an age at which the current vice president says one is still a “kid,” when recently defending members of a Young Republican group involved in a pro-Nazi Telegram chat). Platner has since apologized for the posts.
The tattoo, of a skull and crossbones, he says he got when he was 22 and drunk, with some fellow servicemen in Croatia. He disavows having any previous knowledge that it was a Nazi symbol and has since had it covered. No evidence has emerged that he has ever harbored Nazi sympathies.
Many voters agree that we need to elect more young candidates to office. In order to do so, voters must reckon with the fact that most younger candidates will have left long social media trails that may include immature, ill-conceived comments, photos and videos. Personally, I am not into “purity” tests. I care what a candidate thinks, what policies they advocate, and how they live now.
Graham Platner, like every other candidate, is imperfect, but I support him. Rather than swallowing the click bait, I would encourage voters to go to his website, https://www.grahamforsenate.com/. You may like what you read. I did.
Elaine Shute
Mount Desert
