PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — His U.S. Senate campaign under fire, Maine Democrat Graham Platner said Wednesday that a tattoo on his chest has been covered to no longer reflect an image widely recognized as a Nazi symbol.
The first-time political candidate said he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007, when he was in his 20s and in the Marine Corps. It happened during a night of drinking while he was on leave in Croatia, he said, adding he was unaware until recently that the image has been associated with Nazi police.
A skull and crossbones sounds like a symbol that was co-opted by nazis but not an explicit nazi symbol. I didn’t know that connection either. Without seeing it, that sounds more like a pirate symbol, or poison.
I agree, the description is vague and the symbol was most assuredly was co-opted by Nazis (past and present) just like the swastika, blackletter typeface, Nordic symbols, and a whole bunch of other stuff of historical significance.
But, accidental or not, this seems a pretty cut and dry comparison, art-wise.
And a quick search of the historical context