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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   19883 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 20, 2025

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Following up on the last 2 week's worth of cryptofascist accusations, a Maine Senate candidate apparently had a Nazi-linked tattoo. Fun fact compared to the people involved in past weeks: he's running as a Dem. He also had some questionable reddit posts:

“Why don’t black people tip?” He worked as a bartender at Tune Inn on Capitol Hill, where he was a guest bartender last month.

“I work as a bartender and it always amazes me how solid this stereotype is,” he wrote. “Every now and again a black patron will leave a 15-20% tip, but usually it [is] between 0-5%. There’s got to be a reason behind it, what is it?”

That same year, he also responded to a post about underwear designed to prevent sexual assault saying people should “take some responsibility for themselves and not get so f—-ked up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to?”

Platner also made references to political violence in several posts. In 2018, he said in response to a thread in which someone invoked leaving the U.S. due to Trump-era immigration policies: “Fight until you get tired of fighting with words and then fight with signs, and fists, and guns if need be.”

In other 2018 posts first reported by Politico, Platner said those who “expect to fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle … ought to do some reading of history.” He also said “an armed working class is a requirement for economic justice.”

CNN focused on a series of posts from 2021 in which Platner also called himself a communist, said rural Americans are “racist” and “stupid,” called all cops “bastards” and used the word “retard” several times.

I note it's near the bottom of the article where it's mentioned that Platner called himself a communist, as opposed to any article about leaked republican chats which immediately lead with any claims about Nazi/fascist allegations. For example, this next article.

On the Republican side, Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel has withdrawn because 'a text chat that showed him saying the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell.” Ingrassia also described himself in the chat as having “a Nazi streak” at times.'

According to texts viewed by Politico, Ingrassia told those in the chat that “MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs.”

Apparently, from three weeks in a row of this kind of thing, there is a rule for text chats: if you're a Republican, anything you say will eventually be leaked (and nothing will happen to the duplicitous snitches who leak private conversations), and spicy comments will sink your career. If you're a Dem, you can talk about wanting to see the deaths of your opponent's children and you'll remain the party candidate for a major statewide office.

Determining who the real hypocrites are is an invitation to the Seventh Circle of Hell. Contextual bickering could occur, but the main difference between Jay Jones and Ingrassia I see is:

After the texts came to light, several Republican senators said they would not support his nomination. They included some of the most conservative and stalwart Trump allies in the Senate.

I assume Ingrassia can be sidelined and replaced with ease. He might even have enemies or competitors with reasons to want that. Dems had no such out with Jay Jones. So, yes, I think it's fair to say Democrats are the hypocrites™ here. The respectability standards, as ever, are fluid and contingent. That doesn't mean they aren't real or are permanently unilateral. I do think the Young Republicans got offered as an unnecessary sacrifice to the altar of respectability. Vance was correct about that.

Platner has the support of people who cheered Charlie Kirk's death and faces off against the establishment. They would be happy to see him drop out. At least one of his fellow primary challengers has demanded such. People still go on about how Bernie had the election rigged against him. That may be what Dem operatives are thinking anyway. It does appear less than ideal some reddit communist has garnered a groundswell of support and a real campaign.

What is not believable is that Platner didn't have knowledge of the lineage of his cool skull tattoo. A veteran marine of multiple combat deployments, who then served as a military contractor -- one that, according to his now former campaign aide, "prides himself on his extensive knowledge of military history" -- certainly knows what kind of tattoo he wears on his chest. Weirder things have happened, but if I could bet money against his total ignorance of the design I would bet a good deal. I don't know why he didn't just say he was inspired by any number of killing-is-rad coded skulls as a young marine, and that the Croatian skinhead who gave him the tattoo only had one design to pick from.

questionable reddit posts "suggested people concerned about being raped shouldn’t be inebriated around people they don’t feel comfortable with."

Now that's just good advice.

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