While I was away on the Labor Day holiday, ADN published a story titled “Alaska village gives suspected drug dealer the boot with a one-way plane ticket out of town.” I wasn’t able to respond to the article.
I believe this headline was disingenuous, and keeps alive an out-of-date phenomenon in Alaska history, as well as the possibility in people’s minds that it’s OK to not afford folks due process. Both the fifth and fourteenth amendments speak to it. Comments on homelessness articles on ADN are chock-full of those who want to blue-ticket the homeless.
Did Galena do an amazing thing? Absolutely! I commend them in their thinking and action. I know Galena — it’s been some time since I lived and worked there; still, I get the concern for substance abuse today, and the grassroots interventions needed in underserved and underfunded communities. But really, they did not give anyone the boot. They confronted drug abuse in their village and offered choices — right on, Galena.
It appears the ‘suspect’ chose a gift of a ticket away from there. They weren’t given the boot with a one-way ticket. By the way, McCarthy was delightful and the colors magnificent out there.
— Maureen Suttman
Anchorage
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