It’s not uncommon to keep your political allegiances quiet at work, but when your work is politics, things can get complicated. For example: Nate Graham, a redheaded man, serves as a legislative aide to a democratic Alaska state representative. Graham works in the same building as David Eastman — also a redhead — and a GOP state representative. Graham says people occasionally confuse him for the Republican lawmaker in the Capitol’s halls. It was all regular Capitol hijinks until Eastman started to really embarrass Graham.
In April, Eastman placed the sole “no” vote against a bill written to honor black soldiers for their work in constructing an Alaskan highway during World War II. He did the same for a similar bill that commemorated Hmong and Lao veterans. But what really ruffled Graham’s feathers was when Eastman compared abortions to child abuse last week, where he further explained that women get abortions simply for a “free trip to the city.”
With that, Graham reached for the nearest bottle of peroxide and went to work. Five hours later, he is a new man with yellow hair. “It was a subtle protest I thought I could do that other people couldn’t get away with,” he explained to the Alaska Dispatch.
He’ll never be confused for Eastman again — at least not until his roots grow in.
