Alaska hosts \"Choose Respect\" rallies across the state in the spring. <\/p>\n
STORY HIGHLIGHTS <\/p>\n
Editor's note: John D. Sutter is a columnist for CNN Opinion and head of CNN's Change the List project. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+. E-mail him at ctl@cnn.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n Juneau, Alaska (CNN) -- Quick: Name the governor of Alaska. <\/p>\n Nope, not Sarah Palin. <\/p>\n He's no reality TV star. Isn't on anyone's list of 2016 presidential candidates. And the local press thinks he's so bland they call him the \"Oatmeal Governor.\" <\/p>\n But Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell deserves national name-recognition for one reason: He's taking on one of the most important issues of our time. <\/p>\n He's trying to get Alaska to talk about the \"resident evil\" of rape. <\/p>\n John D. Sutter <\/p>\n \"It's culturally permissible to be silent about it,\" and that must change, Parnell told me in a recent interview at the governor's office in Juneau. (You commissioned that trip, by the way, as part of CNN's Change the List project. More on that here.) <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read the original here: <\/p>\n Gov. : 'An epidemic'<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alaska hosts \"Choose Respect\" rallies across the state in the spring. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Editor's note: John D. Sutter is a columnist for CNN Opinion and head of CNN's Change the List project Continue reading