I was struck by Gloria Simeon’s powerful commentary on Feb. 26 relating Rep. David Eastman’s statement to the well-documented trauma brought upon Alaska Native people via territorial, state and federal policies.
I do not know if Eastman assigned in his mind any particular characteristics of the children that he thought might save the state money, other than they would be young and abused. But Simeon’s statement, passionate and cogent, is an excellent reminder that our words about hard things aren’t received as filtered through our own experiences. They are received by those who might have experienced them.
While I can’t know what it is like to be someone with a high ACES — Adverse Childhood Experiences — score, or Alaska Native, the lens Simeon shared is invaluable. I hope Eastman, as an elected official who can make a difference in state policies, as well as every other reader of this paper, takes the opportunity to hear her.
— Lynn Zender
Anchorage
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