What do we do when people change? (The uncomfortable conversation nobody wants to have about Platner)

Graham Platner was one of many guys chewed up and spit out by the US war machine. The shit out country made him do clearly did massive damage to him mentally. He dealt with PTSD, alcoholism, likely other undiagnosed issues as well. He clearly had a difficult time adjusting to civilian life, so he became a contractor for a while. He had rocky relationships and needed help. And then he got the help he needed. He turned him life around. He got better. This is supposed to be a success story. Yet, throughout this entire campaign, people just want to focus on the shit he did before he finally got the help he desperately needed. Are we supposed to condemn a guy for the rest of his life because he was suffering from the consequences of the imperial war machine discarding broken soldiers onto the streets? These are all genuine questions. In most cases when allegations like the most recent ones come out about someone people say "I hope he gets help" but in this case he already got the help, so now what do we do?

Posted Jul 7, 2026, 10:02 PM UTC

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