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The outrage over Platner’s Totenkopf tattoo is the same tired playbook the DNC used against Bernie and Mamdani. When someone refuses to toe the corporate line, they reach for the smear file. This time they are pretending a centuries-old military emblem is proof of fascist sympathies. It is lazy, ahistorical, and typical of a leadership class that thrives on cultural panic instead of context.
The Totenkopf, or “death’s head,” has a long military lineage that predates the Nazis by more than a hundred years. Prussian cavalry first used it in the 18th century, and the Brunswick Hussars under Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick wore it during the Seven Years’ War as a symbol of fearlessness and a reminder of mortality. It was never political. It was about the reality that soldiers live with death close by and fight in spite of it.
By the Napoleonic era, both Prussian and Brunswick forces kept the tradition alive. The Brunswick “Black Brunswickers” who fought against Napoleon wore black uniforms with silver skulls on their shakos. For them the skull meant defiance and the willingness to die for their homeland, not devotion to ideology.
In World War I, the Totenkopf appeared again among elite German units such as the 17th and 92nd Hussars. It stood for camaraderie, courage, and readiness to face death. The Nazis later stole and corrupted it for the SS and concentration camp guards, but that does not erase its earlier meaning.
The skull also appeared in the British Army. The 17th Lancers adopted the skull-and-crossbones in 1759 after the Battle of Warburg, pairing it with the motto “Death or Glory.” It became famous during the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854. For them, the image carried the same memento mori message that European soldiers had shared for centuries: remember death, and live with courage.
To those of us who study and reenact military history, the Totenkopf is not inherently fascist. It is part of a broader European tradition where the skull reminds soldiers that life is fragile and valor is not eternal. It is a symbol of mortality and defiance, not hate. History deserves context before condemnation.
Idk, I was raised Hindu, and the swastika is a fairly common icon and is perfectly reasonable to use but if I'm presenting it in a public context, I understand that I may need to clarify how its being used to people who are not familiar with the specific cultural context in which I'm using the iconography.
He's not doing that, he's just like I thought it was a funny skull, and it seems like he was made aware of it before hand, didn't really get it with any intent around the historical context, and never thought to get it covered up.
I'm not saying he's a secret Nazi, but I do think he's just careless with his public image which has real repercussions as a politician on a national stage. Its not even about what other skeletons he has in his closet, its has his campaign team even done its due diligence vetting him and having proper communication strategies around potential scandals that may arise.
No one's perfect, but part of doing politics professionally in a national scale means taking the job seriously and running your team professionally. It doesn't matter what your policies are if you can't develop any influence to actually push your ideology. Otherwise you're just one vote.
Nancy Pelosi made a good point about AOC when she first joined and tried to aggressively push for policies, she has her agenda and cast her one vote which is all the political power she has. Now that's not to say you need to bend the knee completely, but AOC has since been able to develop and leverage political pressure from the general public through a well curated personal brand by asking useful questions and running personal brand and her campaign in a serious intentional way. From what I've seen of Plattner, I don't see that coming from him.
Wait, is Sanders rocking a swastika? Does Mamdani actually have "I heart mussolini" tattoed on his scrotum?!?! Oh shit, does AOC really actually have that tattoo from fucking Gothika or whatever stupid thing came to mind when I made that joke yesterday?
Holy shit!
Oh. Wait. You mean they don't actually have symbols of hate and genocide tattooed on their flesh? And they aren't being attacked for having symbols of hate and genocide tatooed on them?
Wow. It is almost like... not tattooing hate symbols on your body protects you from being accused of having hate symbols tattooed on your body.
I'm not going to get into why many of these symbols actually were bad even before the nazis got ahold of it (similar to how phrases like "deus vult" were also historically shitty and were coopted by white supremacists for a reason) because it doesn't matter.
platner didn't get this tattoo in the 1800s. He got it in the early 2000s.
But hey. If he were ACTUALLY a military historian who ACTUALLY cared about this kind of stuff, he could have said something... possibly around the time he was defending it and calling it a "punisher skull" 5 years ago. And while I would more than side eye the white boy who insists that his nazi memorabilia is only because he loves history, so be it.
He didn't. He denied, denied, denied and outright lied to The American Public.
You have a hard on for this guy. He was a Marine infantryman. They are not the deepest of thinkers. If I got condemned for all the stupid shit I did when I was on active duty then I would have no friends. We all make mistakes and mature. You have a nice day.
Was it maturing when he joined Blackwater? What about when he defended his nazi tattoo 5 years back?
Believe me, I am all for giving people room to grow. He hasn't done that. He shot a bunch of brown people for uncle sam, joined Blackwater, shot a bunch of brown people for money, and then took over an oyster farm where he himself acknowledges he is dependent on his disability checks. And, during that time, found a chance to defend the nazi tattoo he had on his chest to randos on the internet.
Then, when he was caught, 20 years after getting it, 5 years after defending it, he lied about not knowing what it was.
And, during that time, he seems to have never done much meaningful activist or charity work and has no political career whatsoever.
Also: Personally, I don't think "only ate crayons, didn't shove them up his nose" is a good qualifier for the Senate. I at LEAST want to know that my senators will just sign their names in crayon rather than consume them.
Whatever you say chubbs. You have a nice day.
FC St. Pauli uses the Totenkopf on their fan goods and they despise the fucking fascist. Another reason why I like the club.