Progressive Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner has faced massive backlash in recent weeks, culminating in the revelation that he has been living with a tattoo closely resembling a Nazi SS Totenkopf on his chest for years.
[RELATED: Graham Planter’s Senate Bid Rocked Again — This Time Over Nazi-Linked Tattoo…]
Though Platner has since had his tattoo covered, questions remain about why he didn’t have it removed years earlier or at least before announcing a Senate bid.
Platner claims that he received the tattoo overseas as a Marine in Split, Croatia, while intoxicated over a decade ago, and had no knowledge of its link to the national socialists. He claims that he didn’t realize the tattoo’s Nazi affiliation until very recently, and would have had it removed earlier if he had been aware.
Despite his claims, his former campaign manager and political director, Genevieve McDonald, resigned and publicly stated that Platner was aware of the tattoo’s Nazi link and did nothing.
McDonald’s claim was seemingly supported by a report from Jewish Insider that cited a former acquaintance who claimed Platner knew what the tattoo was.
If reports are true, and Platner really did know about the tattoo’s Nazi link, it begs the question: why not have it lasered off?
Options abound for regretful tattooees in Maine who, like Platner, drunkenly had a questionable tattoo inked on their person but, unlike Platner, wanted those tattoos removed before, say, running for political office.
Surface Aesthetics on 55 Broadway in Bangor claims its laser tattoo services can target just the ink particles without damaging the skin and could have left Platner without an embarrassing Totenkopf-shaped scar.
In Holden, Mainers can go to Nightshade Tattoo and Laser at 30 Debeck Drive. They warn that tattoo removal can take multiple visits and may be more expensive than the original tattoo, though it appears unlikely that Platner, whose campaign has raised over five million dollars couldn’t muster the means to laser off his totenkopf.
For Mainers on a tight budget, Stephen Nightingale, MD, at 248 State Street in Ellsworth, can remove embarrassing tattoos with pricing starting at just $150, requiring between 6 to 12 short procedures that last 15 to 30 minutes each.
Mainers in the Portland area can go to the Cosmetic Enhancement Center of New England at 1945 Congress Street. They even claim their treatment is “surprisingly comfortable.”
Despite the ready accessibility of tattoo removal services across the state, Platner apparently preferred to take his chances and enter a high-profile Senate race with an SS Nazi symbol on his chest rather than endure a “surprisingly comfortable” procedure.
