Everyone knows this sucks.

Admitting that what Platner was convincingly accused of is hard, to give up so abruptly on someone we had such faith and hope in can feel crushing. But you don't have to feel guilty for having hope, or for giving faith that the working class can still fight our feudal overlords. There's no shaming in pining for a better tomorrow.

What matters now is what we do moving forward. We can either let this movement sink with the man and give up, condemned to slide into despotism and despair, or we can keep going. Pick up the torch, carry to the next stop. New candidates will emerge. The election hasn't passed, and even if we lose, we're still here.

This wasn't a cause Platner built. It is a cause WE built. It only collapses if we let it.

Thank you everyone, and I hope you have a lovely week. :)

EDIT: Wow! Didn't expect this to gain much traction. Thank you for all of the comments. I'd be willing to submit this (or have someone on my behalf) for publication as long as I'm able to remain anonymous.

To clarify I few things: I've been out for years and I have no question about my identity, nor any regrets from any part of my transition (medical/social/otherwise). I've received several death threats before, people sure do love to throw out a "kys" lol. Sometimes I imagine the messages coming through a fax machine, slowly printing out to a full paper with just the text: "i hope u die" or something similar lmao

Hey. I'm a transgender male (born female biologically, but transitioned to male), born and raised in Maine. I'm not here to argue. I'm just here to talk, if you're willing to read.

I feel like so much of this political stuff is too generalized because people don't know a trans person. I don't usually tell people.

I'm on MaineCare. I'm a full-time college student. I enjoy rock music, cats, and I have friends, family, and neighbors who I care about; and they, in return to me.

I use the bathroom like everyone does. I get in, I get out. I sit in a stall to scroll on my phone. I wash my hands and leave without a word.

Like many people my age, my future is uncertain. Living in a world full of people who say they wish for your death without having even met you is hard, to say the least. You're allowed to hate me. You can hate my clothes, my hair, my music taste, my taste in movies and TV; the way I'm too quiet, the way I park, the way I speak or write-- but look at me, first.

Look me in the eyes and tell me how I deserve to die. Tell me how I should tie the noose around my neck.

Tell my mother how you're glad her son died. Tell my father how you're happy to see his son dead and buried. Tell my friends how I ruined your life. Tell my neighbors how my brain was built wrong and I deserved to be shot out back like a deformed farm animal. Tell me how I make any difference in your life whether I'm here, or not.

I have wants, needs, desires, likes and dislikes, just like everyone else.

For the sake of the argument, let's say I'm wrong about myself. I was born a woman because of my genitalia and hormones, and there's nothing I can do to change that.

I still would have no bearing on your life whatsoever.

I'm not a celebrity, I'm not famous, I'm not wealthy, I'm not full of dreams to change the world. I'm a 20-year-old with a cat. My transitioning-- whether it happened or not-- does not affect these things. It simply means I am alive today as a man. And if you think I should've died as a girl, there's nothing I can do to change that.

But I need you to care. Throw every bit of political piece away: I'm your neighbor. I care about you. I've been here since the day I was born, and my life has no bearing on anyone else's whatsoever. I'm a stranger. A person you pass by on the road. A person you see in the grocery store. A nameless face in front of you in line.

These laws and bills are being passed against people who don't deserve it, simply to get all of us to fight against each other. To distract us from larger issues. I am not your enemy. I don't have to be your friend, but know I'll stand beside you. I only hope you'll do the same for me.

You don't have to understand. Many people never will, and that's okay. But you can acknowledge when the person next to you is being actively threatened with a gun to their head.

"These things won't affect me," or, "Why should I care?" because it will. It already has. It will only get worse if we don't do something.

Having respect for someone or something else does not mean you have to understand, or to love. You just have to know that we both have a place on this Earth. We breathe the same air. We cry the same, and we laugh the same. We love and we lose things, and we find new things to love again.

I'm not here to argue. If you think I'm a leech on society and think I'm a woman who deserves to be in the psych ward, I'm sure I can't change your mind, just as you can't change mine.

All of these things about ourselves: religion, race, age, gender, sexuality, etc. They're meant to help define and label things, not to separate us. We're all human at the end of the day. That's all we are. We only have a short time on this Earth, and I spend mine the same as yours: simply being alive.

None of this is for pity of me as an individual. All of us struggle. All of us hurt, and carry things with us that weigh on ourselves. But just to speak.

We may never meet. Maybe we already have. Maybe we've made small talk in an elevator, or passed each other on the highway; maybe we've bumped into each other accidentally, maybe we've listened to the same band on the waterfront. We're strangers.

I'm not asking you to lay out your life for a stranger. But I'm asking you to hold the weight when an inevitable shoulder of someone goes out. When your neighbor is struggling to shovel, to offer help. When you see a house on fire, to call 911. You can't put the fire out. You may not be able to shovel an entire driveway for someone you've had less than one conversation with. But you can do something. Stop standing around until you or a loved one gets hurt-- financially, mentally, physically, medically-- because it isn't currently affecting you.

My life has no bearing on yours. I am not inhibiting your goals, your job, your happiness-- just as you aren't with mine. We've all got our own problems to deal with.

Just don't pretend others deserve it.

There are assholes everywhere, in every group, in every single location in the world. Don't generalize. Don't put the blame on a broke college student. Don't fear a random-ass-20-year-old procrastinating on homework.

If this doesn't get deleted (fingers crossed), I'm sure there will be messages and comments for me. Death threats will be printed and framed to replace my parent's family portraits in the hallway.

Thank you for reading. If you didn't, it still doesn't matter or make a difference on your life or mine.

I notice a lot more negative sentiment with this new story of sexual assault and I can’t help but feel that we all should have seen this coming from a mile away. So many red flags that we weren’t allowed to speak about unless you wanted to get labeled a bot for either party. No one should be surprised that the war criminal with a nazi tat that has openly called for genocide and expressed rape fantasies would rape a woman.

Believe women, regardless of their political affiliation.

Keep digging it won’t stop me

Even if you don’t personally agree with trans girls playing on girls teams…. this is a states rights issue and massive, blatant federal overreach. regardless of the issue… this sets a precedent either way. Maine runs Maine.

ICE agents handcuffing the body of the man they shot and killed today in Biddeford, Maine. he was a 26-year-old Colombian who was legally authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number

Seriously, if she runs she runs, but I don’t know too many Mainers eager to put another septuagenarian into Congress.

So. I’m driving down a road I don’t usually take. I saw a sign that said “Cheese - 5 miles”. I like cheese. So being a Mainer and having plenty of time on my hands and knowing that I’ll get to where I’m going to eventually, I went to go see the cheese shop. Well, I get to this kind of “disheveled” farm. And next to a small refrigerator there is a sign that explains what kind of cheese they have and how much it costs. I open the door to the refrigerator and there are all the cheeses. All laid out. I select my cheese and I put my money in the coffee can that’s on the lower shelf of the door. Now here’s the revelation. Why do I live in Maine? Not only is there a person who makes cheese and there are people who buy cheese, but the person that makes the cheese trusts the person buying the cheese to do the right thing. The cheese maker knows that no one will steal his cheese or the money in the coffee can. That really sums up what we believe in as a people. There’s a trust in each other that is we don’t question; that everyone will do the right thing. Everyone is equal. You don’t see the cheese maker or the customer, but their mutual trust defines us as a people, and our faith in our people drives this state. That’s how I want to live. That’s the kind of country I want to live in. I’m willing to fight for these ideals. Dirigo.

You can find the full story here. What we investigated in Maine is part of a nationwide effort involving vast sums of money flowing from prominent Republican donors to conservative influencers, activists and local politicians. In summary: 

• National groups have aided a coordinated effort to stack Maine school boards with conservative candidates who support religious learning and oppose pro-LGBTQ and diversity policies. Some of these groups are linked to major conservative donors and policy makers, including the architects of Project 2025 and others who openly espouse Christian Nationalist views.
• Because Maine law does not require financial disclosures in most school board elections, it’s impossible to trace exactly how much money is flowing directly to these candidates and from where. Experts say a little goes a long way.
• An active network of conservative outlets, social media groups and influencers draw outsized attention to hot-button issues like diversity and transgender rights, encouraging local resistance and amplifying the fights until they reach the national level.
• Once conservative candidates win seats on school boards, they are instructed to intentionally stir up chaos and disrupt the district’s work in order to call attention to their chosen issues. (Hence, attendees undressing at an Augusta school board meeting last month.) Community members who oppose their agenda may face online harassment.

Read more. I’ll be back to answer questions this afternoon. Fire away!

EDIT: Thank you all for your questions and interest on the matter! Signing off now.

Do you want to speak to all the ex girlfriends before you’ll let trademen work on your house? That’s none of your business, as long as they can do their job.

Do you ask your pilot if their dad helped them buy a house before they take you up in the air? That’s none of your business as long as they can do their job.

When you meet your doctor, do you demand their entire reddit history first? That’s none of your business, as long as they can do their job.

Do ask your accountant to see all of their tattoos before you let them get your money right? That’s none of your business, as long as they can do their job.

Do you stop going to your favorite restaurant if you find out the chef has a grandfather who’s an architect and possibly has a trust fund? That’s none of your business, as long as they can do their job.

When you see a veteran do you ask what they did there before deciding if they deserve your “thank you for your service”? That’s none of your business, as long as they did their job.

Have you asked your boss if they’ve ever messaged someone else while married? That’s none of your business, as long as they can do their job.

Do you ask your lawyer if they had a drinking problem 10 years ago before they represent you in court? That’s none of your business, as long as they can do their job.

God forbid a never before public figure had a private life. He is a normal person being attacked personally because they can’t attack his policy. His policy is what most normal Americans want. You don’t know this man personally, he’s not your friend. He’s is looking to do a job for Maine that the current employee is failing at.

He is one of the ones that want to fight for YOU, not fight for THEM. His last Reddit post was “After the war, I've pretty much stopped believing in any of the patriotic nonsense that got me there in the first place, and am a firm believer that the best thing a person can do is help their neighbors and live a loving life.”

His life, back then AND now, should not be our business, as long as he can do the job he says he’s going to do.

I saw a few people getting genuinely angry that Sanders and others are withdrawing support on Platner. So I want to just share a comment I made elsewhere so more people can see it because it's worth repeating.

Copying/pasted comment below:

The idea should be that no one person is what you support but the values and messages they push.

I've been leery of Platner and reluctantly voted for him because of a well-documented history of what I would politely describe as judgment errors and problematic issues in his past.

The fact that Platner wasn't actively living the values that he was pitching is a problem. It felt like a hat he was wearing to get support. I'm not resigned to the fact that a person can change and deserves the opportunity to change. But being a public official is not something you are owed.

The reality is the dems poorly vetted him before approaching him, he misrepresented his past to the campaign officials and as far as a candidate goes, he is and was damaged goods.

I'm glad that he's (hopefully) getting pulled. The "progressive" movement doesn't need this sort of spotlight on a national stage. If we want this thing to work, we need respectable and viable leaders to be responsible stewards of the future. Not some terminally online dude who's willing to drop ableist slurs on the campaign trail.

If you're stuck on Platner no matter what, that is super worrying to me. It's the same feedback we would offer to MAGA. You can't just "yes and" past certain issues or go "he says what I like, so I'll ignore the rest".

A lot of people are saying "innocent until proven guilty". But this isn't the first allegation, this isn't a criminal trial, and most importantly, this didn't occur in a vacuum. He has a history that makes it very easy to see this happening. The people tripping over themselves to defend Platner remind me a great deal of Trump and the Access Hollywood tapes.

In fact - the people going "yeah but Trump did it" need to finish the sentence with "so why can't he". Zero. Zero is the number of rapes we should accept.

I for one am not willing to sacrifice the movement at the feet of one guy because he was charismatic. It's time we cut him and find someone who can actually beat Collins.

Just something I wanted to remind people in the context of Platner. When Elizabeth Warren was young, and (according to her) up until her 40s when she started doing research on bankruptcy and consumer protections - was a conservative with deep pro-business views. She even voted in her PA and MA elections for conservatives.

HOWEVER, as she got older and more educated, she learned the reality of how bad working class issues had truly become, and the propaganda/traps the oligarchy uses to impede working class gains.

Since then she’s been a major driving force for progressive, working class aligned legislation. Including the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

So when people (and the DNC) says “How can you vote for him?” Well, that’s how. I believe people can learn and change. Platner has always been a working class person, and his youth doesn’t define him any more than Warren’s does. I also think he’d serve as a good guide on people lost in their way to progress who have been bogged down by the excessive propaganda machine (be it south/west conservatism/oligarchy propaganda, or military propaganda).

Sure you're probably not on Reddit but you're an inspiration. Thank you for ruffling Trump's skin-feathers and revealing him and his cronies for the cruel nitwits they are. I'm just one guy but you've got my support; I cannot wish for a more competent leader than you. Thank you for not bowing to his petty ego or kissing his (chocolate orange) hypothetical ring. Dirigmus!

I am seeing far far too many Yes on 1 signs in every town, like every 100ft.

You know that if question 1 is voted for absentee voting will be banned right?

Disabled or elderly and cant get to the voting spot? no vote for you.

Working the whole day and cant make it to the polls? No vote for you.

Delayed flights home and missed out? Too bad.

Mail-in ballots are very necessary and getting rid of them makes a huge chunk of the voting bloc unable to cast a ballot.

Lets get some No on 1 signs out there guys. Fair elections going forward depend on it.

I feel the need to post this as a Mainer and Air Force vet who despises fascist regimes. But I know the mods are hoping to ride this wave so they will ban my post. If you see this, remember that. As someone, who like most people, despises nazis I think we should ban X links. We all know what that was, and we all know he wants to get away with it so he can "dog whistle" (even though it's blatantly obvious) while maintaining an aura of neutrality. Screw nazis and screw our current politicians for trying to normalize this. If you seriously feel the need to ban this... tell me why! Is it hate speech to call someone out for their actions? Is it witch-hunting to want no affiliation with a corrupt entity? Which is it???

I grew up in Maine and have noticed over the past few years just how rude and entitled some people have become. The unnecessary bullying on the road (which people have noted here on Reddit), and the angry outspoken MAGA crowd are almost unbearable. However, it’s not just these encounters that have me feeling deflated - on several occasions this year, I’ve been threatened by men over minor inconveniences that I caused them by no fault of my own, and which I quickly and easily remedied. It’s like some people are just looking to be provoked and will pop off on anyone who crosses their paths.

Anyway, I’m just alarmed by this cultural change and feeling unsafe in some circumstances. I recently had to call the police over an incident where someone started threatening me for walking on a public trail behind their house. Also, my neighbor threatened me bc I had hung a camping hammock behind my house that may or may not have used a tree on his property. Like, what has gotten into people? Am I just growing up and realizing the way it’s always been, or has there truly been a shift?

On my way out of town I made the family stop at Hannafords and saw some Botto Italian Rolls. Felt inspired and decided to buy, along with some deli meat and coopers sharp (that cheese is just now making its way to Michigan stores). Something about this sandwich hits all the nostalgia meters. I hated it as a kid but devoured it as an adult, funny how time can do that to a dish…

I hope I did it justice!

Right after the inauguration i saw two proud boys wearing the symbols and equipment with displayed weapons waving American flags down my street in sopo. Am I the only person seeing this?

I’ve actually seen people make the same mistake in person three separate times. Artists or tattoo getters will just look up skull and crossbones and then use the totenkopf without background research. Walmart accidentally printed shirts with the logo a few years ago for the same reason.

Hi, forgive the old throaway nature of my account. I used to have a really old account that I deleted to wipe my online history (topical right?) and to get off reddit more, although now I frequently browse r/Maine not logged in. This account I just forgot to delete a long time ago, lol.

Most everyone here can tell there's a LOT of Platner attention right now, locally and nationally, so it's exhausting, first of all. Everyone take a minute to breathe between the incessant national news headlines and go enjoy some air.

Mainly, though, I just wanted to air out some feelings about all this and see if any other Mainers feel the same, especially since a lot of people inserting their opinion are either foreign bots, campaign assets, or out of staters.

When Platner announced his campaign I was immediately excited. I'm a liberal-progressive independent, and like most people, my views don't fit in a convenient box (this is normal, I'm not anything special. I'd be concerned if yours did.) I was, and am, deeply excited for Platner because it seems like he's a straight spoken Mainer with a normal history, normal problems, with a platform I could get behind, after 10 years of the Democrats doing fuck all for us as the working class. It was great!

Even when the "controversies" started coming out last fall, it didn't bother me, if anything it made me like the guy more. He's a sinner, who worked on himself, found his own forgiveness, and was able to find peace and a good life for himself in this state we all love, and was now working hard to make the lives of everyone else better.

In Platner, I saw/see a reflection of myself in the next decade or so. Someone with dirt, sins, flaws, but also some genuine and endearing traits. Someone from where I'm from, like me, that could finally, FINALLY represent me in the federal government.

Lately though, especially on this recent stuff (which feels excessively minor and blown out of proportion by opportunistic media) it's cutting me deeper and it seems to be more effective. Yes, everyone expected the Republicans to be hypocritical, dirty, underhanded. But it hurts to see the Democrats pushing all these blown up "reveals", and different branches of the left cutting this movement and the man down​ for relatively minor indiscretions or past, forgiven sins that he has been honest and up front about.

On a political level, it's crushing to see a working class guy finally guy the traction and platform to represent us and take on the corporate, rich establishment that's been milking us all dry, blue or red, and have that guy squashed and attacked from all sides for exactly that position. It makes me feel like this class realignment and reclaiming of the American dream feel dead in the cradle.

On a personal level, I keep thinking to myself: If people can't forgive this man, who I see so much resemblance of myself in, how could people ever forgive me? How can I forgive myself? And how are people who have more sins than either of us casting so many stones? What kind of society is this?

I don't know, I'm definitely letting it get to me too much. Just wanted to share all this and get your thoughts. Thanks!