Fifield, 41, is the second woman to allege this week that Platner engaged in nonconsensual sexual conduct. Jenny Racicot, 41, who said she previously dated Platner, told The Post and other outlets on Monday that he sexually assaulted her in late 2021, leading a growing number of allies to drop their endorsements and call on him to withdraw from the race for a Maine seat in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), his most influential and prominent supporter, said he spoke with Platner on Tuesday and urged him to withdraw from his campaign to unseat Susan Collins, the incumbent Republican.

Platner, 41, a Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer, also denied Racicot’s allegation but said on Monday that he was “mindful of the political reality” that the reporting will “inflict” on his campaign and was “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.”

Fifield initially told The Post about the alleged condom removal during a June 20 interview that was off the record. She said she decided to speak publicly about it Tuesday in part because, she said, she wanted to show that Racicot was not alone in experiencing issues with Platner involving sexual consent.

  • FullPenguin@lemmy.world
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    Fifield, who spent 7 years working for the Heritage Foundation and made all of these accusations a few months ago without any evidence, is the reason why people are so hesitant to take the more recent one seriously.

    If the Heritage Foundation is doing anything to take you down, you’re probably doing something right.

    • daannii@lemmy.world
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      Heritage foundation… Yeah they are pretty much all liars . plus aren’t they against contraception?

      • nomy@lemmy.zip
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        It’s a long listen but worth checking out How Conservatism Won by Robert Evans. He lays out in a clear concise way “how a consortium of rich failsons got together to fund a network of right wing think tanks and shift American culture in a fun new direction. (note: it was not actually fun at all).”

        The Heritage Foundation is the at the root of a lot of the issues in the U.S. right now, it really can’t be overstated just how malicious they are. They write the policies and vet the candidates, if they’re not the actual shadowy cabal they definitely share some membership.

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      The Politco story is well sourced with therapist and boyfriend messages from before Platner was ever in politics.

      Sometimes a broken clock is correct, this is one of those times.

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          There are images of the texts in the Politico article. The therapist and ex-boyfriend’s testimonies as well.

          It’s not about taking the word of complicit media - it’s about taking this woman’s word.

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            I for one do believe her, however not without skepticism stemming from the massive and well funded effort to get him out of the race and put a friendly (to neo liberals) in position for critical votes. Both parties are making a massive effort here and therefore their actions, and those of media under their control are more suspect. I hadn’t seen the publication of evidence yesterday, guess I missed it. Thank you for sharing.

    • Scotty_Trees@lemmy.world
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      So Maine’s choices are an alleged sexual assualter or a known and confirmed adjudicated rapist and 99.9% likely a pedo protector known as Susan Collins? Two extremely shitty choices, I’ll admit.

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      I mean that’s the whole asymmetric corner we’ve painted ourselves into. Every time you give flimsy accusations the benefit of the doubt, you make real accusations less credibile. Every time you doubt real accusations, you enable rape culture. Normally the ethics seem clear - always believe women and rape culture eventually starves. But what if fascists weaponize the issue before that happens?

      Yeah, common sense says a conservative activist doing this during a campaign is probably full of shit. But didn’t Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers have the same smell? Maybe jumping in front of the spotlight is the only way these women can be taken seriously.

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    I don’t wanna be that guy, but purposefully removing a condom during sex without consent is rape.

    • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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      We’ve got weirdos pretending that this waters down the term rape in this thread, lovely.

      When you are having sex with someone, presumably you are trusting them? You are trusting them to be safe, to not push boundaries, to do only things you consent to do.

      When someone stealths you, they are saying that they don’t give a fuck about you. That trust was misplaced. They are willing to do something to you that you explicitly did not want. Are they going to stop there? (The same type also often pushes for anal/“accidentally” attempts penetration there.)

      It’s terrifying and traumatic. Your head races - are you current on your birth control? How likely do you think it is that this guy has some disease? And you get a physical reminder that your consent didn’t matter, the sensation and needing to clean up after if they finished.

      It’s also so goddamned common. It’s trivialized.

      If you slip the condom off without someone’s consent, you are a rapist. Rape fucks victims up whether it’s a stranger in the bushes or a FWB stealthing you.

    • Snowies@lemmy.zip
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      What if it slips off because your dick is too small?

      Maybe he’s got a thin penis like the detective in Deuce Bigalo Male Gigalo

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        “I consent to protected sex” is not equivalent to “I consent to unprotected sex.”

        Rape means here is no valid consent to the sexual act itself (or consent is obtained through force, coercion, incapacity, etc.).

        The sexual act in question is unprotected sex. The man had no valid consent to the sexual act itself. Consent was not obtained. The woman’s bodily autonomy was violated.

        He knew this when he tried to take it off. Otherwise he could have consentfully never used it.

          • Guy Ingonito@reddthat.com
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            This is like when a Muslim family is attacked and the comments are all debating if racism is the correct term since Muslim isn’t a race.

            It’s just muddying the waters, destructing from the crime and the victims, and providing cover for the wrongdoers.

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                I think I get where you’re coming from, but it’s still rape. You could categorize it, sure, but it should still have rape in the name just like aggravated rape does. Point being that some losers like to call it stealthing. But we already had to word for that stuff, “rape.”

                • Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world
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                  Oh sure, rape can certainly still be part of the term. No issue with that. Didn’t really think there was any reason it shouldn’t be. But “just” calling it rape seems an injustice.

      • Smoogs@lemmy.world
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        we’re not here to censore violence and minimize what happened to an actual victim of violence because your sensitive ears cant hear it. you and your delicate ears are not the victim here. the rape victim is. stop making their trajedy about your ears.

        be a better person than this.

          • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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            Then don’t be. Rape is too overloaded. Find a more descriptive term.

            We don’t need to load any BS into your words, there’s plenty on display.

            • Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world
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              So, since you only see what you want to, let me spell it out. They already have various categories of rape. Like aggravated rape and such. These are like rape+. I am saying a more descriptive term like that should be used to highlight the heinousness of the crime. But you refuse to see that. You just want to be righteous so bad you will make up something to be righteous about.

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                  Perfect, anyone who is incapable of understanding this concept, please do block me. That will save me the trouble of having to explain to people who’s minds are made up and don’t want to rethink their opinion in light of new information.

                • Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world
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                  Excellent attempt at a mic drop. You wouldn’t want to go and admit that you completely misread what I have been saying all along. That would just be horrible.

      • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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        Putting your dick in someone without their consent is rape. She did not consent to him taking the condom off. This isn’t a grey area.

      • webadict@lemmy.world
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        I don’t wanna be that guy, but it is rape. If you think that it isn’t, it’s on you to find the descriptive term, not me.

        • Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world
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          So the guy is also accused of not stopping when she said stop. That is also rape. Do you not see a problem with calling them both rape? Which sounds worse, 2 counts of rape. Or 1 count of rape and one count of <something more descriptive>. To me the second one conveys that he has a pattern of disregard for women beyond just one situation. I also think the condom thing shows intentional deception, where as he could claim he was too far into it to stop when she told him to. Combined as seperate things, they are more incriminating.

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            So the guy is also accused of not stopping when she said stop. That is also rape. Do you not see a problem with calling them both rape?

            …No???

            They ARE both rape.

            Just because one rape is different from another rape doesn’t mean they’re not both rape, what the actual fuck are you talking about.

          • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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            where as he could claim he was too far into it to stop when she told him to.

            This made my skin crawl.

            • Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world
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              Yeah, but we know some judges and jury’s would accept this excuse. So using a more descriptive term would better represent the crime to those who might otherwise consider it less serious than it should be.

      • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
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        Removing a condom during sex without consent, known as “stealthing,” is classified as a form of sexual assault in several countries, including Britain, Canada and parts of Australia. In the United States, Maine, California and Washington state have laws that address the nonconsensual removal of condoms during sex.

        There is another term for it, however, it still fits the bill as rape.

      • dreamkeeper@literature.cafe
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        I thought about what you said for a little while. After thinking hard, I believe I found the correct term for this kind of behavior. The term I came up with is “rape”. What do you think?

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      Yes politics sucks. The sad part is it only gets worse the less you pay attention, but because you’re not paying attention, all is good.

      This whole thread though feels like two bots arguing about which one is more right.

      • Boomer Humor Doomergod@lemmy.world
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        It gets worse the more I pay attention. It gets worse no matter what. It destroys my faith in humanity and makes me hate being part of a social species.

        Fuck everyone and I hope we go extinct because we deserve it.

        And this reaction gets worse with every election cycle. Every election makes me hate people more.

        • Malyca@lemmy.zip
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          I’m with you, if only our extinction didn’t take so many other animals with it

  • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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    She estimated that Platner removed condoms without her consent at least six times when they had sex at both of their residences in D.C. during their two-year, on-and-off relationship. She said she told him that she was upset about it but that he would make light of the situation.

    “I confronted him both during and after [sex] because he knew that I was not on birth control and how dangerous that was,” she told The Post in one interview. In another, she said: “He would act like cute about it, like ‘Oh sneaky me.’”

    • ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net
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      I really don’t understand women. What would compel a person to have sex with someone who raped them 5 times already?

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          She said they dated on and off for about a year. Doesn’t sound like being “stuck” in a relationship. I get it that people have issues. I guess I’m just lucky I never had to deal with anything like that.

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            Yeah relationships can be complicated. It’s not only women that get caught up in it though.

            I’m going to take a wild educated guess that this particular woman’s conservative background set her up to allow men to take advantage of her in various ways as a pattern, but that is admittedly speculating based on lived experience.

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              Yeah relationships can be complicated. It’s not only women that get caught up in it though.

              Yeah, I guess you’re right. I still don’t get this though. There are bad matches, toxic relationships and then there’s being raped and agreeing to more sex. Just fucked up people going through things I guess. The question about Platner is can you really change? Or having issues 10 years ago means you can never be trusted again? And if that’s the standard should we trust his ex?

              Anyway, I think the issue was making him the candidate in the first place. It was clear form the beginning he’s toxic. People pretended it’s fine as long as they could but there’s a limit.

              • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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                Or having issues 10 years ago means you can never be trusted again?

                Pretty sure this happened only 5 years ago in 2021. And no, I don’t think that’s enough time to change enough as a person to be trusted with a seat in the Senate personally.

                Anyway, I think the issue was making him the candidate in the first place. It was clear form the beginning he’s toxic. People pretended it’s fine as long as they could but there’s a limit.

                I absolutely agree. He should have never been chosen to begin with considering his complete history.

                • ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net
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                  He dated Fifield (the one accusing him of removing condoms) over 13 years ago. I thought the rape allegation are also from decade ago but you’re right, it was 5 years ago. So yeah, looks like he didn’t change.

          • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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            Ohhhh hahaha our interaction pissed someone off enough to go through my recent post history and downvote every single comment.

            My goodness, the misogynists on this site get so cranky hahaha

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          Sorry, comments like that do not fit the agenda in this thread. That’s like implying women can lie for money. Impossible.

          • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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            Acknowledging that relationships are complicated and it’s not just women who get caught up in them is not equivalent to accusing rape victims of lying for money.

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    If the guy has any actual desire to do good in the world, the best thing he could do now is drop out. Given his stated politics, I figured the tattoo was from when he was young and stupid, like he said, but this shit… People don’t outgrow this shit.

    He needs to go.

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      I dug up his old Reddit comment about rape victims earlier because I was curious and couldn’t quite remember the details:

      “Holy fuck, how about people just take some responsibility for themselves and not get so fucked up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to? Men and women, you make a choice to consume enough of a substance to lose your self control. So if you don’t want to be in a comprising situation, act like an adult for fucks sake.”

      He needs to drop out.

    • Malyca@lemmy.zip
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      They can outgrow it, just takes more work than most people are willing to do. I’m with you though, if he were truly reformed he wouldn’t say it never happened, he’d own up to it an explain.

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      Yeah, there’s still plausible deniability, I’m not fully convinced he’s a rapist, I’m just not particularly convinced he isn’t given the accusations. Holding his ground will say he’s more invested in his ego than his professed beliefs.

      If he’s innocent I hope he drops out and continues the fight to clear his name.

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    How is it that Trump can say he grabs women by the removed and still become president and Platner is so far only accused of sexual assault and his support is quickly eroding and he’s being asked to leave the race? Can it be the Democrats inability to articulate a response to the rigid parameters imposed on behavior by those in the party who insist such adherence is mandatory? The Republican response to Platner staying in the race is a known quantity that can be addressed and diminished even without the mountain of ammunition the Republicans can give Democrats. Yet the Democrats seem completely unprepared for the fight.

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      Maybe, and this is me having to think a few seconds… Progressive voters align more with moral behavior than Trump voters? A lot of progressives want things that make people’s lives better because they believe it is the right thing, and I would argue that raping people is a thing that they would deem as bad.

      Now, if your argument is that this is only an accusation and not proven… That’s a little more understandable. I would argue that this most recent accusation seems very credible. It’s also kinda fucking weird to say “If they’re okay with the child rapist Trump, we should be okay with an adult rapist!” That’s better in a way that sort of makes light of rape.

      I feel like if you sexually assault someone, you should never be allowed power should not be a controversial opinion, but I fucking bet it is.

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        I can’t believe this had to be said. But thanks. Holy shit. I’m reminded at times like this that a lot of people that follow politics literally just treat it like a team sport. Like, it’s entertaining for them but they aren’t actually interested in obtaining power to achieve political goals. They just want their team to win.

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          There is something to be said about these types of people. They fight for the person and not the message. His message is what matters here, and I think a hard line in the sand of “No Rapists” shouldn’t be a hard bar to cover. He had a lot of other issues, but that’s kind of an easy line for a lot of people to draw.

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            Agreed. We’re also seeing a lot of people expose themselves as rapist or rape apologist because of this. Like, I hope this can be a learning moment for them, but I doubt it will be.

            It’s just really basic shit. Like not understanding that consent can be revoked at anytime.

            Like, even people I really respect are trying to place doubt on this poor woman.

            Like I really respect Ryan Grim from DropSite news. But he literally just posted about “missing context”.

            This is not “journalist integrity”. This is a conscious choice by Politico to not include a portion of the story in their story that would introduce victim blaming. It is not “context”. It’s about as useful as telling us what Platner had to eat on the day he raped her.

            CONSENT CAN BE REVOKED AT ANY TIME. If Platner didn’t stop when that consent was revoked than he’s a rapist. That’s it.

            I guess Ryan Grim has boomer brainrot or something. He should have provided the additional “context” and then explained it how I just did. This “asking for it” rape culture shit really needs to die. It’s people like him that I hope learn from this. Because DropSite and him are really doing good work. I think it just shows how much rape culture is still a part of our society throughout the political spectrum.

            It’s just hard right now to educate people when the tensions and frustrations are so high right now. It’s hard to differentiate between the people worth using this moment to teach; and those that should be shamed for being rape apologist. Some people are just not worth the effort and that’s ok.

            Sorry, rant, but I read your reply after being frustrated by this shit.

    • Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      How is it that Trump can say he grabs women by the removed and still become president and Platner is so far only accused of sexual assault and his support is quickly eroding and he’s being asked to leave the race?

      In case the other guy minced words a little too much, I’ll say it a bit more directly. Sexual misconduct and rape are bad. Left leaning voters do not like rapists, apparently right leaning voters do. Your concern about the fact that the right still elected trump, but that the left seems to be abandoning platner is effectively saying that you are perfectly fine with overlooking rape if it means that your political team gets a win. This makes you an asshole.

      Hope that cleared it up.

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      I think you’re missing the part where the people that supported Platner are no longer going to support him after finding out he’s a rapist. The people that supported Trump were fine voting for a rapist. Like, are you actually asking the Democrats to attempt to convince their voters to vote for a rapist? That’s where we are at now?

    • AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world
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      Everyone forgot about Amber Turd already. These are accusations, and already people act like he was convicted. Just shows throwing an accusation could impact someone’s political career just as much as if they were actually convicted. By the time you get proven innocent people will have already made up their minds and moved on.

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          From my understanding one of the accusations seemed to have records but the other did not. And again, just assuming every accusation is true, things can be doctored and faked.

          Wild that people think hesitating is somehow the same as supporting rapists or is wrong somehow. People have their lives ruined over false accusations but nobody seems to care about that.

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            When 1 in 4 women have been sexually assaulted and 1 in 6 women have been raped in the US, these accusations do not shock me in the slightest.

            It’s much more likely that this man with a history of violence took advantage of these women to get what he wanted.

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              5 in 6 women could be sexually assaulted and I still would hold off passing judgement until there was at least a hearing.

              I’m not shocked either. It’s seems like that’s probably what happened. Again, wild that wanting to hold off judgements until someone gets their day in court should not be controversial lol.

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      People like HBO Velma here who are far more gullible than they understand but still confident make up a large part of the center left. Probably thought Kamala was a good choice too.

      • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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        Gullible to believe what? That a guy with a violent history would have the ability to rape a woman? What world do you live in where this isn’t a common held truth?

        I was very unhappy with Kamala, not that you’ll believe me. Rather talk shit than talk about the real issue at hand.

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    So are we saying our preferred outcome is for Susan Collins to retain her seat? I have a hard time landing on that as the morally correct choice no matter what is on the other side of the table. I think what does the most good for the most people in this situation is for her to be out of office.

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      Platner should drop out and they should coalesce around Troy Jackson if he wants to run. Appeal to the base that wanted Platner in the first place and focus on forcing that old corpse Collins out no matter what.

    • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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      If platner had a long track record of community organizing and working towards the things he has claimed on his platform? I would still not be able to say “Let’s support the rapist nazi” but I would at least understand the logic.

      He has no political or leadership track record. He said a few things you want to hear and that is it.

      What he DOES have a track record of is lying. Whether it be blatant lies about a “military history buff” reddit user having no idea what Mitchell and Webb’s totenkopf is or, ya know, all the rape?

      So we have a wildcard candidate where the only thing we know about him is that he is a rapist nazi. MAYBE it is worth getting someone else on that ticket?

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        I don’t give two shits about Platner. I care about unseating Susan Collins. Platner seems to have the best chance at accomplishing that, as far as I can tell.

        Stopping, or at least slowing down, Trump is the ultimate goal. We know Susan Collins won’t do that. All her replacement needs to do is vote with Trump less than 90% of the time for it to be a significant win.

        If there’s a way to get there without Platner I’m all ears, but all I hear right now is talk of letting Republicans keep the seat and that seems like the worst case scenario to me.

        • SailorFuzz@lemmy.world
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          9 days ago

          Platner seems to have the best chance at accomplishing that

          HAD the best chance.

          Regardless of if the allegations are true or not, Platner has no shot at this point. This will deflate any momentum he had. It is going to disillusion too many that he will not have the enthusastic support needed to beat Collins. His campaign is just too toxic at this point, people arent going to show.

          So either we huff copium, and deny that reality until he gets defeated later OR we pivot now while we still have any shot.

          • pingveno@lemmy.world
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            There are polls coming out now. A while ago, he was running about 10 points ahead of Collins. Recently, he was neck-in-neck, within the margin of error. This will certainly put Collins in the lead. And I don’t see a path for him to recover. Even if nothing more comes up, his campaign is cooked. He should drop out so that Maine has a real choice in November.

        • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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          And how does electing more nazis and more rapists help with slowing down trump?

          If there’s a way to get there without Platner I’m all ears,

          Well… the first step is to do what we should have done back during the primaries and get the nazi mercenary off the ticket and put someone else up there. From what I’ve seen, Troy Jackson seems like a great candidate. Very similar platform, good Union boy, and has a strong track record of actually trying to follow through on his campaign promises at the state level.

        • Soup@lemmy.world
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          Voting against people is what’s given conservatives disguised as centrists power all around the world. Stop being so proudly stupid and actually demand real change. It can be done, but carrying on like you are only adds barriers to progress.

    • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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      We don’t need more rapists in office. It shouldn’t be that hard to find a candidate that doesn’t rape people.

  • Maeve@kbin.earth
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    I maintain if a partner says they are sexually monogamous then has unprotected sex outside the “monogamous” relationship, while continuing to have unprotected sex inside the “monogamous” without giving one or more partners the option of informed consent, that is also SA.

    • queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone
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      Not to call you out, but prepending victim blaming with “not to victim blame” doesn’t make it not victim blaming.

      See how it’s still calling you out?

        • queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone
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          Well, at least now we’ve established that victim blaming was your intention all along. You seem like a [EDIT: Rule 2] real charmer. conversation over.

            • SuperNovaStar@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              Absolutely true - but that doesn’t make it ok to victim blame.

              Victim blaming distracts from the person whose fault it really is - the perpetrator - and instead creates a new discourse that isn’t actually helping anyone.

              • I don’t blame her for him lying about the condom the fist few times. I blame her for sleeping with a Nazi mercenary. Even without the rape, I would blame her for doing that.

                For Fucks sake are we really rallying to protect someone who is OK with dating a nazi mercenary?

                Is that where we draw the fucking line?

                I am happy that he is loosing, but I am so fucking pissed that the liberal kept making excuses for a nazi mercenary and suddenly they are all Pikachu face when he turns out to be a bad person.

                No fucking liberal gets to act surprised, not even his girlfriend.

                The fuck did they expect?

                • SuperNovaStar@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                  Well if that’s what you think then maybe stick to that messaging instead of victim blaming. It muddies your message and makes enemies of your allies (as evidenced in this very thread).

                  All you had to say was “Glad the liberals are finally seeing the truth about this guy” or something like that. Cut the friendly fire - womens issues are everybody’s issues, even if many women can’t see that we’re all on the same team.

            • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              Yeah literally nobody here is saying that.

              Coming from one of the few people on this site who was skeptical of Platner, mainly due to the Nazi tattoo that he definitely knew about, you should go ahead and fuck yourself.

        • lennybird@lemmy.world
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          I wouldn’t have even known it was a nazi tattoo, and neither did Platner when he got it while deployed as a 20-year-old dumb marine. Enough with this AIPAC-peddled bullshit.

          • he wasn’t a stupid 20 years old, he was happy to become a mercenary, and openly reminisces about being a mercenary.

            And being a stupid 20 year old and ending with a nazi is an OK excuse, but the you do tattoo removal or cover up. keeping it after being informed that it is a nazi symbol is a statement.

            DNC propping up a nazi mercenary it’s unacceptable.

            we need antizionist politicians, but we don’t need Nazis

            • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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              Do you think his on again off again girlfriend would have known as much about Nazi tattoos as the former mercenary?

              Stop victim blaming in here. I, for one, agree with you he was never a good candidate. Let’s cast blame where it belongs - on Platner.

            • lennybird@lemmy.world
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              Citation needed. What are you talking about, “mercenary”? A driver?

              In fact, if I recall he actively regrets the actions of Iraq and Afghanistan. People can’t change?

              Sad thing is he’s still better than Collins. We need people advocating for progressive values; not just anti-zionists btw. Don’t get tunnel-vision!

              • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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                He signed up for several tours as a private mercenary for hire in Afghanistan.

                Clearly he hasn’t changed as much as he claimed.

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                  6 months as a driver for a US Diplomat for the State Department. Hardly a hardened killer, lol.

                  Oh well, I guess it’s all moot now. Susan Collins gets in, which is somehow even worse.

              • I am pissed that “Nazi mercenary that killed people that looked like me” is shoved under the rug and cunts online still make excuses like “People can change”

                but removing a condom while having sex with someone who sleeps with nazi mercenaries is suddenly a career ender.

                Don’t get me wrong, it should be a carrer ender. but the first one should be more of a “straight to jail, you have bo place in any human society”, But killing people that look like me is acceptable.

          • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            neither did Platner when he got it

            Yeah that’s bullshit. He lied to you.

            He’s a fucking rapist, and yet you still can’t conceive (or maybe just admit to yourself) that he lied to you.

        • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          Y’all wanted to elect him to the Senate despite the Nazi tattoo, but you want to dog this woman for having an on and off again relationship with him?

          She still didn’t deserve to be sexually assaulted. He was the one to remove the condoms.

            • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              Look dude, I agree with you on this. I’m one of the few people on this site who has been saying it the whole time (and taking a lot of shit for it).

              However, you’re literally victim blaming this woman, and it’s disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourself.

              • Nazi lives don’t matter.

                you know the whole if there are 9 nazis on the table and one non nazis? there are 10 Nazis on the table.

                same goes for whoever dates a nazi. he has a literal Nazi tattoo, and was a merc, she knew.

                • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                  Yeah buddy, I’m well aware of your argument. It’s shit, and you’re shit for doing nothing but doubling down on victim blaming a rape victim.

            • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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              How about you stop blaming his victims when they’re coming forward to inform the public about who Platner really is before getting elected.

              • I’m mostly frustrated that killing brown people for money is acceptable profession in the US, but they draw the line at hurting a woman who’s OK with nazi mercenaries.

                In the US, brown lives don’t matter. And this shows it.

      • I refuse to shed a tear for someone who dated a nazi mercenary, she was OK when he was a nazi paid to kill brown people, she doesn’t get to act innocent.

        she’s still a victim and hopefully gets justice. the same way the people he killed for money deserve justice. But in America, browns lives don’t matter. a white tear is worth more than a brown life.

        • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          You should read a book about logic, because it’s clearly not your strong suit.

          You’re a piece of shit victim blamer. About literal fucking rape.

          Stop acting like you have a valid position, you can’t even construct a position that even appears logically sound or cogent.

          “Hurr durr, America is a racist country, therefore it’s her fault she was raped.”

          That’s literally your “argument.”

      • Blue MAGA rallied behind a nazi merc, and now they are rallying around a nazi lover.

        What next, an antisuicide campaign with Eva Braun?

        Miss when nazi lovers were shaved and shamed. and nazis were punched rather than voted.

        • Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          You’re continuing to condone rape. You can draw whatever arbitrary lines you want around it, but that’s what you’re doing. You’re a cunt.

              • no one deserves to be raped, but when you are dating a literal merc with nazi tattoos you cant expect a happy ending.

                and yall care more for a nazi woman’s tears than the countless brown people he killed for money. You are all racist as fuck.

                • webadict@lemmy.world
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                  He steps up the plates.

                  no one deserves to be raped

                  He’s winding up for a big one!

                  but

                  Oh, swing and a miss on a victimblame.

                  nazi woman

                  Strike two on another victimblame! Maybe he can turn it around!

                  You are all racist as fuck.

                  Hot damn, a projection outta nowhere! Three strikes in rapid succession, the coach is definitely gonna bench him with that performance!

        • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          Blue MAGA rallied behind a nazi merc,

          This is just straight bullshit.

          Just more proof that “Blue MAGA” isn’t actually a real thing.

          People usually use it to refer to establishment Democrats who get behind center right nominees. Like the opposite of what happened with Platner.

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              So you’re attacking people who are supportive of getting this nazi out of the race?

              Misplaced anger.

              • they aren’t in favour of removing a nazi. they still making excuses. they are in favour if removing a rapist.

                which is also a good reason to remove him, but they openly don’t give a fuck that he was a nazi.

                • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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                  You’re arguing with people who are telling you we gave a fuck about him being a Nazi and you’re still on the attack.

    • erin@piefed.blahaj.zone
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      Not to victim blame, but [victim blames]. Come on. Two things can be true, he’s an evil Nazi mercenary and he assaulted, and likely manipulated, a woman. Do you know that he was honest with her about his history? You’re making a lot of assumptions about a woman where the only thing we know about her is that she was a victim of sexual assault. You don’t know how much she knew about him or how he manipulated her. She is an asset to your cause by doing a very brave thing and speaking up, and all you can do is blame her for not knowing this guy is bad news. You really think a guy that is willing to rape a girl is somehow above lying?

      You are part of the problem. Your resentment should be directed at the establishment and the voters that are willing to accept a Nazi mercenary but not a rapist, not the rape victim. I find your comments in this threat to be genuinely disgusting. Easier to pin the blame of a system on the woman that was a victim than to recognize that she is an asset to your cause! Assigning blame to her is both counterproductive and incredibly presumptuous.

      Again, you do not know her story and you do not know the lies he sold her or how he manipulated her. We know that she was a victim, and a victim of someone you take issue with. Support her, don’t go through mental gymnastics to find a way to somehow blame the victim.

      • Sorry, I categorically refuse to provide empathy to someone who was OK dating a nazi mercenary.

        I oppose sexual violence, but I won’t waste my feelings on someone who dated a nazi mercenary who was happy killing people that looked like me.

        I am also pissed at the establishment for basically the same fucking thing. they supported a literal nazi mercenary and made excuses.

        You don’t get to date a nazi mercenary and then act innocent. or even surprised to learn that he was a bad person.

        And I refuse to be gaslit by liberal cunts.

        He has a nazi tattoos, and was a mercenary, how the fuck did he hide that?

        • erin@piefed.blahaj.zone
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          Color me surprised that the rape victim blamer is also a misogynist.

          You clearly didn’t read my comment, and how do you know she knows what that tattoo means? I would have no idea that’s a Nazi tattoo. Again, you fully ignored the fact that he raped her, he probably lied too. You just make all these assumptions that she knew exactly what his tattoo meant and she knew exactly what he did in the military and she knew he was a mercenary. How does the cognitive dissonance not bother you?

          Also, I’m not a liberal, and don’t call me a cunt. I’m a leftist, and I’m going to afford a rape victim with empathy and not jump through hoops to justify my disgusting prejudice. Read my comment again, and make a response that isn’t just “lalala I’m not listening” with a healthy dose of misogyny on top.

          edit: this misuse of gaslit is really the icing on the cake. you’re assuming a woman has psychic knowledge of her abuser’s past, knows what a tattoo means that means absolutely nothing to most people without specific knowledge, and then deciding that the communist woman you’re arguing with is a “liberal cunt” because she disagrees with your misogyny.

          • Did he lie about his job?

            Unless he really lied to her about the tattoo that is clearly visible, and his job, then maybe.

            but It kind of hurts that a white women tear is worth a lot more than many brown lives.

            That rape shouldn’t have happened because he should have been in jail. Nazi mercenaries have no place in any society. The US failed her by allowing a nazi mercenary to walk free. The establishment democrats failed for endorsing a nazi mercenary. And she failed for thinking that nazi mercenary is just a cute quirk.

            He never hid that he was a mercenary. If she thought that being paid to kill people that look like me was a cute trait, then I don’t think I owe her any empathy.

            • erin@piefed.blahaj.zone
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              it kind of hurts that a white woman tear is worth a lot more than many brown lives.

              I very much agree, but that isn’t her fault.

              I literally agree with you, but you’re reading so much into a relationship you know absolutely nothing about because you cannot separate your resentment of an unjust and racist system and society from the blame of one woman.

              Yes, he should have been in jail. Yes, she should not have slept with him, but you have no idea how much she actually knew about him. If she had full knowledge of his history and and understanding of his job and still slept with him, yeah, that’s a poor choice, but she is still a victim.

              Regardless, I highly doubt she did have full knowledge of his past and what the obscure tattoo meant. He raped her, he probably lied too, and it kind of sickens me that you find it easier to trust the word of a Nazi mercenary man over a rape victim woman. These kind of people revel in manipulating their way into women’s pants. He slipped his condom off for fuck’s sake!

              This woman is a victim, and she’s an asset to your (and my) cause. Stop with the misogynist mental gymnastics and operate on what we actually know, which is that an abuser raped her and she’s facing the full consternation of both Graham’s supporters, and apparently detractors, for that choice.

              You need to take a second and redirect your anger. Don’t jump through hoops and make assumptions to justify your gut reaction. You’re absolutely right, it’s 100% unjust that it took this woman’s word when his actions should have been enough, but again, that is not her fault. I am not going to make assumptions for Platner’s benefit. A man that is willing to non-consensually slip off a condom multiple times despite her saying no is absolutely willing to say whatever he needs to to get in a woman’s pants. I highly doubt that he’s going into a hookup and telling his partner “hey, I liked blowing up brown people so much I went back as a mercenary.”

              I simply don’t know, and I will not assume, so I will support the victim and be happy that she came out against this person I refuse to support. It should not have taken her word, but I am still glad she did and have a great deal of empathy for a fellow SA victim that was able to come out against her abuser, even though he’s a public figure. I wasn’t able to.

              • The rape was laying about wearing a condom. still sexual assault, but I don’t think it is even considered a crime in the US. It should be a crime, it should be treated as rape, but it wont. It was considered a joke when it happened to me. Because violence to people that look like me is just a joke.

                He had a Nazi tattoo and was a mercenary, not sure you can hide those in a relationship, so unless it was a one off one night stand, and she didn’t inquire about the tattoo then it makes no sense.

                I would not make an anti suicide campaign using Eva Braun.

                Even if there was no sexual assault I would still blame whoever dates him just for dating him. He never showed remorse and reminisced about being a mercenary on interviews.

                No one gets to act surprised that a nazi mercenary is a bad person, not the democratic establishment, not the liberals, and not his ex. You dated a nazi mercenary, what did she expect. And it wasn’t a hook-up, they knew each other for a while from what is sounds like.

                Are we so desensitized to nazis that nazi lovers are people we expected to emphasize with?

                I am pissed at the establishment, but also pissed that I am expected to feel bad for a nazi lover in a country where people that look like me are treated like subhuman trash.

                • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                  No dude, you’re “supposed to” feel bad about a rape victim because you’re a human being and they’re a fucking rape victim.

                  It’s really that simple. Just stop.

                • erin@piefed.blahaj.zone
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                  Why do you keep assuming it’s impossible to hide you’re a Nazi mercenary? Jobs and political beliefs are like, the easiest thing to lie about. Men lie about those constantly to get laid. Conservative talking heads even brag about it because modern women won’t sleep with conservatives. Stop making assumptions and support the rape victim.

      • runblack@feddit.org
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        Yeah, and no one knows if she was, except herself and Platner. It’s her word against his. End of story.

        • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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          1. Believe victims
          2. Considering he has a track record of telling the stupidest of lies (“I am a military history buff and a redditor who has never heard of a totenkopf before!”)… I would probably suggest a different angle to protect the rapist.
          • runblack@feddit.org
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            I will never adhere to such a stupid rule as 1. This is circular reasoning at its best. How can she be a victim if no one knows if she is, but herself? Everyone can self-proclaim themselves to be a victim. This argument has no merit whatsoever. Until there is any more substantial evidence I won’t belief anyone of course.

        • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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          That’s nice. The good news is that you can think that and just not open your fucking mouth and making everyone assume you are cheering for someone being raped.

          It doesn’t have to be Friday to shut the fuck up.

          • No one gets to act surprised that a nazi mercenary is a bad person, not you, not the democrats, not the media, and not his girlfriend.

            And it is extremely personally insulting, that the tears of a white woman is more important in the US that brown people’s lives.

            When that happened to me it was treated as a fucking joke, but when it happens to a white nazi lover suddenly its bad. Trust me, I want her to get justice as much as I wanted justice for myself. but apparently, based on the colour of my skin, the US is more likely to pay someone to kill me (they already do) than to ever get any sort of justice.

            • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              When that happened to me it was treated as a fucking joke, but when it happens to a white nazi lover suddenly its bad. Trust me, I want her to get justice as much as I wanted justice for myself. but apparently, based on the colour of my skin, the US is more likely to pay someone to kill me (they already do) than to ever get any sort of justice

              Assuming this isn’t just complete bullshit, like you do realize that this makes you a terrible person right? The fact that you yourself have experienced something similar, and yet you are still heartlessly blaming a victim because she was white, is downright shameful.

              You should be ashamed.

              • I’m criticising the painfully overt racism involved. the one still going on with people still making excuses and rallying around a nazi lover.

                yes, it’s obvious that I’m worthless because of the color of my skin and I’m the bad guy for bringing it up.

                I’m all against suicide, but I won’t cry about Eva Baun or Hitler offing themselves. Nazi lives don’t count. but apparently in the US, they count more than me.

  • BillCheddar@lemmy.world
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    If this were a conspiracy for Collins, they’d have waited til AFTER the deadline for Democrats to replace Platner on the ballot.

    And that’s to say nothing but disgust for some of the people in here who have chosen to respond to rape accusations with Trumpian levels of disregard for truth or reality.

  • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
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    so both these accusers were “raped” in 2021. So why wait until now.

    Why is Platner such a threat to the old Democrats?

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        It’s like we all collectively forgot about Me Too or it wasn’t nearly as effective as we wanted it to be.

        I’m incredibly disappointed in the reaction from some on the left to this issue.

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          I don’t think MeToo failed. It succeeded in making known how prevalent sexual assault was. And it allowed women, including this women, to come forward with her story.

          I do think MeToo could never really fight against sexual assault in its entirety because it wasn’t aimed at the perpetrators. It was aimed at the victims, to tell them they weren’t alone, that it was okay to talk about their experiences, that they had people that understood them.

          And that is a great first step! But to really fight sexual assault, you need to aim at the those that commit assault as well.

          You need to have them listen to the stories of the victims. You need to have them hear their pain that they have and continue to cause. You need to have them reconcile what they have done with who they are. It is not enough to prop up and help the victims. You also have to reform and help the offenders.

          And that sounds a little crazy, that somehow the offenders are due some sort of relief for the crimes they have done. I don’t want anyone reading that to think that they don’t owe their victims some form of becoming whole again. Only that there has to be a movement aimed at the offenders of sexual assault to truly fight against it.

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            I know personally, I am much better informed now about the systemic realities around silencing of rape and sexual assault victims. I knew before some, I just know more now. Part of that was just having more life experiences in general, but I also credit Me Too.

    • Guy Ingonito@reddthat.com
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      I previously had you tagged as ‘likely misogynist’ but now you’re upgraded to confirmed misogynist and rapist defender

      • ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca
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        Potential rapist defender*

        But the obvious answer to their question is that it’s easier to come forward when you know you aren’t alone.

        With that 5 years isn’t even that long so why would they think it’s a conspiracy?

        • velma@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          With that 5 years isn’t even that long so why would they think it’s a conspiracy?

          They never believed women to begin with, so it’s easy for them to assume a conspiracy over the much more likely scenario that he raped her and other women.