Yeah, I also think it's completely fair to criticize me for not knowing something. Seriously, if I don't know something, feel free to let me know because how else am I gonna learn it if I don't know?
Like, I don't want it to sound like I'm making a joke, I'm not a genius, I can't recognize every warning sign for what it is, I don't know a whole lot about a whole lot, and a lot of my knowledge is learned by people telling me something, me researching a few things pretty casually, and me thinking about a few things. I've unlearned several things I thought was true, and I might even have to unlearn some of those when I find out that's wrong. I don't want you to think that's a point of pride, I want the pride to be that I'm open to being wrong, and I'm going to defend what I think is right against what I think is wrong.
So, like, open season for you. Have at.
The problem with your logic is that you are saying knowingly gets a Nazi tattoo, but you're against anyone having a Nazi tattoo, knowingly or not. So, let me take a slight detour before I get to the point.
The problem I have with an absolutist statement like that is that there are plenty of reasons someone might have a Nazi tattoo, even knowingly, that wouldn't make me immediately not support them. Now, given that statement, the circumstances are probably gonna be pretty stringent, but I don't think it's necessarily unforgivable or even disqualifying... BUT I think it mostly is, especially because you're right that you can probably find someone that is just as good as whoever I could find that fits the bill, but does not and has not ever had a Nazi tattoo. So, like... I guess the point is simple.
You're right. And I am wrong.
I think it's worth noting that many of the people who supported him did not do so out of idiocy. They were taken advantage of, their willingness to forgive exploited. They knew all of these things and were wary of them, but chose to ignore them because they were lied to about the kind of person he was. They trusted him. And they were scammed.
It is easy to say in hindsight that this was easy to see. I was willing to forgive the tattoo at first and the military service at first (though, not the mercenary work, nor the reddit comments, and definitely not the fucking rape) because, well, in some ways I am kinda gullible, and in other ways, I kinda give a lot of leeway to certain privileged people (mostly rich white men) who make mistakes that ruin lives because they never considered the consequences of their actions because society allows them to do so with little to no repercussions, and that subconsciously affects my opinions.
For the record, I wasn't a Platner supporter before this, but I understand how many of them got there. He said a lot of things that people desperately wanted to hear, and that is how people get scammed. They aren't dumb, even if they did act like morons. They're desperate. They're hopeful for anything that can make their lives better. They're even gullible to believe a man with a Nazi tattoo who was a Blackwater mercenary that assaulted many women was a good candidate, and responsible for perpetuated a culture that allows these horrible decisions to continue not being as bad as they should rightfully be. But, even though I understand why you think so, I still don't think they're stupid. And maybe that's another thing on me.