The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.
As the Democratic nominee in a closely watched U.S. Senate race, Graham Platner has been in the spotlight. We suggest he use the attention and platform to draw needed attention to a scourge of Maine, the nation and the world — the disempowerment of women.
Shortly before Tuesday’s primary election, in which Platner, as expected, easily captured his party’s nomination to challenge Sen. Susan Collins, the New York Times reported that Platner had mistreated several former girlfriends. They recounted troubling incidents of intimidation and disturbing behavior. Platner denies most of the allegations, and we are not suggesting that he engaged in domestic violence. Instead, he deserves credit for readily admitting, and working to address, the corrosive impacts of the misogyny and violence he experienced during his time in the U.S. military.
With attention on his past behavior and his past comments discounting sexual violence, Platner has an opportunity to speak out forcefully against efforts to diminish the power and independence of women. Even better, he could tell Mainers what steps he’d take in the U.S. Senate to protect women from violence and to more broadly improve their security, which includes financial, reproductive and educational autonomy. Such work aligns with his populist message as economic insecurity and the lack of health care and childcare, especially in rural areas, along with foreign wars, disproportionately harm women.
A central theme of Platner’s personal story is that he has grown and changed since the days when he posted racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments on social media. He is not the person who mocked rural residents and was a “bad boyfriend,” Platner has said.
Here, he has an opportunity to show the world that he has changed, not just tell us he has.
Many of Platner’s supporters will quickly point out that Republicans — including the president — have done far worse things than Platner. While that is likely true, such whataboutism doesn’t solve problems.
For example, the prevalence of domestic violence in America is a real problem that demands real solutions, not deflections. And, the key to real solutions is more engagement from men, particularly men like Platner — a military veteran, a guy with a bro aura, a man who says he’s spent a lot of time and energy working to fix himself.
Last week, three domestic violence incidents in the U.S. left three mothers and 10 children dead. The youngest victim was 3 years old. These killings may not have made national headlines, but they reflect a troubling trend. While homicides in the U.S. have declined sharply in recent years, domestic violence killings have spiked, a Washington Post analysis found.
This rise in violence comes while the Trump administration has delayed the distribution of already approved funding for programs that support survivors of domestic and sexual violence, forcing emergency shelters to close in some state. Platner should make it clear that, if elected, he would work to restore and increase this funding, and take other steps to support, empower, and protect women.
Men continue to dominate Congress and other legislative bodies. As a result, they have a large hand in setting the agenda and priorities for lawmaking.
Men are most often the perpetrators of violence against women.
So, it is up to men to speak out, to demand action, to hold their peers accountable.
A strong man in the spotlight can make a difference.
