Slaying victim had been an advocate for domestic violence victims.

[proud2BlibKansan]

By DAVID KLEPPER
The Star’s Topeka Correspondent
Mackey
Mackey
Garche

LAWRENCE | Sometime in the afternoon of July 2, Jana Mackey ceased being an advocate for women. Instead, she became another statistic in a cause she spent years fighting.

Mackey, 25, a University of Kansas law student, had lobbied state legislators for gay, lesbian and women’s groups. She assisted victims of rape and domestic violence.

She was killed by her ex-boyfriend, police say, a Cuban artist who went by the name Fito Garche. After the slaying, Garche, 46, was arrested in New Jersey, where he hanged himself in his jail cell.

<skip>

The service was in Liberty Hall, a film and concert venue Mackey frequented. Several lawmakers and lobbyists attended. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius sent a state flag that had flown at the statehouse in Mackey’s honor.

A projector flashed pictures of Mackey while Patsy Cline played in the background. A little girl from Hays. A gawky teen clad in black. KU student. Campaign volunteer. Friend. The leader of 200 KU students marching in Washington.

The family had hoped a few hundred people would come.

Eleven hundred did.

http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/701959.html

[EFerrari]

1. So sad.

[MuseRider]

2. Did you know her?

Mabus and I both did. She was a remarkable young woman and will be sorely missed for all her good work and her beautiful nature.

Hard week. I did not make the funeral because I had another to go to :(. It took me days to get over the fact that she was murdered. She was not someone I knew well but I had worked with her as she was involved as KEC's first part time lobbyist. What a terrible loss for all of Kansas.

[joshcryer]

3. I just googled her picture, she was such a vibrant young lady.

What a fucking disgrace. Glad that guy hanged himself but he deserved worse.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. I met her once

A good friend of mine is active in NOW and she knew her well.

It's so so sad.

[rhiannon55]

5. I knew her and attended her service at Liberty Hall...

I didn't know her well, but she had the warmest smile you can imagine and when we ran into each other downtown (2 or 3 times a year), it was like we were old friends greeting each other. I first met her 5 or 6 years ago when she waited tables at at Zen Zero--she was my hubby's and my favorite worker there. We started talking politics one slow night, and after that, we were friends. I saw her shortly after she quit the restaurant job and went to work as a lobbyist for NOW, and I'll never forget how excited she was to be getting that opportunity. Somewhere I have the business card she so proudly gave me that night...

Jana was a beautiful, open-hearted person with an abundance of energy and enthusiasm. I continue to be stunned that she is gone, that her amazing light has gone out.

:cry: RIP Jana Mackey...

[MuseRider]

6. I am so sorry.

She was amazing and I doubt anyone who ever met her ever forgot her.
I did not know she had worked at ZenZero. It is funny how we get to know people sometimes. I am glad to know you were there.

[rhiannon55]

7. I'm glad to have known her

even as just one of her many peripheral friends. I never sat on her famous porch or partied with her at the Replay, but every time I saw her at a political or community event, or in a downtown restaurant, or on the street, her face lit up like she was truly glad to see me. I'm sure many other people had that same kind of experience with her. She was a gift to our community and to the world, and I can hardly believe she's gone.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. She had a very warm smile

You are lucky to have known her.

[Beacool]

18. I'm so sorry, she seemed to have been a delightful person.

May she rest in peace........

[otherlander]

8. :(

[lonestarnot]

9. damn

[MasonJar]

10. My heart is broken for you and her family and friends...so unnecessary and sad.

[Divine Discontent]

11. how sad... but what a beautiful life she led! eom

[Withywindle]

13. aw, FUCK!

:cry:


Gawd, that's heartbreaking.


***

rant: I want to pre-empt the inevitable posts that will start up saying, "Well, if she was such a domestic violence advocate why did she take up with him in the first place?" and "why didn't she get away sooner?" and "why didn't she THIS and why didn't she THAT...?" and all the rest of that concern-troll blame the victim shit.

When will the question be asked, "Why do these men do this?" (and some women, I'll give you that .001% case too) and "How can we stop them before they hurt ANY women, much less two" and "how can we see violent, possessive misogyny in its early stages and nip it in the bud before any PERSON (women are people, after all) is hurt?" and "How do we teach boys from an early age that girls and women are not objects to be owned and then destroyed if they disappoint you"?

You can't make this a class/education issue here. This man was a subversive artist, who had at least enough sensitivity to take himself off the planet; he knew he'd done something wrong at least. If they were involved that closely, she must have talked to him at least somewhat about feminism and domestic violence work, right? And he must have listened if he ever really cared for her, right? RIGHT?

You can't blame it on irrational moments of passion. We all have them. Some of us eat too much, drink too much, spend too much, fuck the wrong person, quit our jobs in a tantrum, PUI on message boards, drive too fast, get into fights with no permanent damage, etcetera. The people who consciously make the choice to end another human life are in an exponentially different category. They are a disease that MUST be diagnosed and eradicated, and no amount of scrutinizing their victims will ever help at all.

[MuseRider]

14. Well said

and thank you. She was taken apart by some on local sites and it was almost as if they said she had asked for it. So very sad, maddening, unfair and untrue.

[Withywindle]

15. I'm so sick of the idea that violent men are some kind of force of nature

like tornadoes, that doesn't involve responsibility on the PERP's end and can't be prevented.

Tornadoes have no consciousness. Humans do. At some point, we have to stand up as a culture and say, the onus is on that consciousness. It is NOT the victim's fault. The just penalty for breaking up with someone is NOT death. Death is NOT a just punishment for choosing lovers poorly. Nor is it a just punishment for being insufficiently deferent, or even for cheating.

Honestly, I don't even think it's a "women's issue" at this point. Women have been shouting that killing women is not acceptable for centuries. Obviously, the men inclined to do so aren't listening, because they don't respect us as humans in the first place. Now I look strongly askance at MEN who won't do their part to tell other men that no, "the bitch" DIDN'T "deserve it," what the fuck is wrong with you, asshole?

[MuseRider]

16. Exactly.

Thanks, it is still a long road to travel. Somehow I do not see it changing in my lifetime.

[Beacool]

19. Typical behavior, blame the woman!!!!

I remember a case in FL years ago when I lived there, a young woman had been raped after a night out. The jury acquitted the creep who raped her because in their opinion "she had asked for it". Why? Because she had worn a denim mini skirt that was deemed as too provocative to some. I still remember the photographs in the paper of her white top and a skirt that I, or any other girl my age, would have worn too.

She had been raped twice, once by a degenerate and once by the court system.

[MuseRider]

20. I hope that what you meant

by years ago was really years ago. I remember when they grilled the woman about who she had dated, if they had sex as if any of this made her less of a victim.

Many women get raped twice like that. I truly sucks and like what was said above, we have been screaming about it for a long time. It really will take the men to change this and I do not feel very encouraged about that.

[Beacool]

23. It was in the late 80s, not THAT long ago.

Isn't it depressing?

[MuseRider]

24. Yes it is

and all the more so because it has changed only a little. The courts are supposed to not allow all of that anymore but I read that now in many courts you can't even call it rape. Never the less, it is the attitude of the general population that scares me. What is the future going to bring now? I guess in many respects I am glad I am older and will not be here for what I fear if it does come to that. I refuse to go back to the attitude of the 50's. I am a non-compliant, uppity woman.

[Beacool]

26. That's why this election depressed me so much, nothing seems to have changed.

Policy disagreements are valid, but the sexism and personal attacks on the first woman to ever come so close to the presidency were disheartening. Meantime, while all this crap was going on, Howard Dean and the DNC were mute. Only after she dropped out and Dean received thousands of messages complaining about the DNC not speaking out against sexism as they had spoken out against racism, does he give a lame excuse that he hadn't noticed it before because he didn't watch cable TV. Can you believe it? That is why so many women are still furious and not willing to move on and vote for the nominee.

The general population chuckled at the sexist remarks, but were outraged at any whiff of racism. I guess sexism is so ingrained in our society that it's just par for the course to too many complacent people.

[MuseRider]

27. I can certainly understand their point

not wanting to move on. There are many things about HC that I admire but being as left as I am I was having a difficult time with her policies. Whatever, I was thrilled that she was there and had the chance but I knew that this country is a long way off from voting for a woman. It sickens me. I am not surprised that Dean said nothing. I am not surprised the Democratic Party did so little. The problem, as I see it anyway, is that men are not likely to want to change. Some men are very happy to be able to wield that upper hand, actually in my experience more than some. We have to remain strong and we have to do a better job educating our children. Our daughters need to be taught to be strong and proud and our sons need to be taught to knock it the hell off.

[Beacool]

28. Yep, we have to teach our daughters to demand to be treated as equals

and boys to not feel threatened by strong women.

When you have a chance, please watch the two videos they are not long, but they say a lot about what went on during the campaign.

Take care!

[MuseRider]

29. I will

and thanks.

[Beacool]

30. You're welcome!!!

:hi:

[Beacool]

17. What a terrible tragedy, compounded by the fact that it occurs so often.

A week doesn't go by that one doesn't hear on the news or reads in the paper that a woman has been killed by a male partner or former partner. It's such a common event that we now seem to take it for granted.

This young woman had so much to live for and so much to offer society, what a pity that a sick bastard took her life away!!!!

One thing I noticed this election season was the coarseness by which Hillary was treated by the media, but also on the internet. At first I was shocked with some of the comments on the various blogs, then they became par for the course. The epithets were endless and still are: bitch, whore, skank, the "c" worse (I refuse to write it), etc. were bantered about as if it was acceptable to refer to any woman in such manner, let alone a presidential candidate. Even on this board many people were not offended by comments from Randi Rhodes that labeled her a "big f***ing whore".

What was more shocking to me was that the most sexist comments seemed to come from young men. I would have thought that young guys would be more open to a woman running for president. The way that Hillary was sexualized was disturbing to me, there were as many men who claimed that they would "do" her as those who felt the opposite, and both sides were quite descriptive about it.

The most disturbing comments though, were the ones from those who angrily claimed that Hillary deserved to be raped "to put her in her place". Years ago I read about a French woman who during the French Revolution had advocated for the equal rights of women. She was seen as too subversive even during those revolutionary times. To teach her a lesson, a group of men ganged raped her. It was appalling for me to read over 200 years later, that some men were suggesting that Hillary should receive the same treatment. Haven't we learned anything?????

When are we going to learn as a society that women are not chattel, not property to be owned and controlled? When are men going to stop objectifying women? When are we women going to stand up for ALL women, even those who we may not agree with, when we see that they are being treated in a sexist manner?

NO to violence against women, NO to sexism!!!!!!

[MuseRider]

21. I was never a fan

of Clinton but those remarks made me feel like I would have voted for her just because. I would really not have and not being a Democrat I could not vote in the primary anyway. She never deserved that. I just love it when they say that someone would not be so crabby if she would just get laid. Really? Men always fix our problems doncha know. Yes we need to stick up for others who are treated this way and yes, the young men in this country are as bad as any I have ever known, even before the women's movement. It scares me.

I think Jana would approve of this thread being hijacked like this. She was one courageous woman.

[Beacool]

25. It got to be so bad, that Republican women at work

who knew that I volunteered for her campaign wished me luck before the NH primary because after she lost IA, the media was in a feeding frenzy and reached the height of their misogyny.

MSNBC was the worse culprit. Chris Matthews said the day after her win in NH that the only reason she had gotten into the senate and the only reason she was a presidential candidate was because her husband had "messed around". Tucker Carlson said that he would cross his legs every time he saw her on TV, while at the same time giving "Elle" magazine an interview where he stated that Hillary was his "secret fantas". David Shuster said that Hillary was "pimping" Chelsea and after her campaign protested to NBC he was suspended for two weeks.

Add to that all the pundits usual comments: her voice was called "shrill", her laughter a "cackle", remarks about her hair, age, clothes, the size of her butt and ankles, and last summer the Washington Post had an article on her cleavage. How's that for the advancement of women?

These videos are pretty enlightening:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsocCWiLh3s&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcdnlNZg2iM

May Jana rest in peace and may no other woman suffer a similar fate.

[tabasco]

22. I hope nobody says anything bad about the perpetrator.

He's dead so we have to respect him.

[Hidden Stillness]

31. The Vicious Side of Contempt for Women

I did not know about the victim--who seems like a wonderful person--before this thread, and so I cannot add anything on that level, but I think there are a couple of general things, very depressing, that keep coming up and that need to be faced to even try to solve this terrible problem.

It seems every single time there is a media story bout a rape, domestic violence, violent pornography, other abuse, discrimination, etc., the entire story gets immediately swept, like a wave, to favor the male, present everything about the story as if it were "muddled" and "confused," (like maybe this isn't even something to be against), minimized, (how many times are they going to call these things "fondling," for God's sake?), and then, as a second step, the insinuations and accusations against the woman begin. You don't realize how much hatred of women there is, until something happens, and "suddenly," it all comes out, and you can't get the "official" lies corrected. (The Hillary Clinton posts on this thread are completely appropriate; it is part of the same hate.)

Another thing is a depressing opinion-flip I have noticed about bigotry against women, (even among the "liberal males"), and that is that everyone is against rape, violence, discrimination, etc., when it is a general abstract, referring to nothing, but as soon as an incident happens and it becomes a real case, they are all on the side of the male, making excuses, refusing to believe any male would ever do any such thing ever, and lying about the woman. Then suddenly, so many of them have their own stories of contempt, (where they were the "oppressed victim," of course), about women. Like the video that came out some years ago, of woman-beater Jose Canseco, still playing baseball at that time, at the (Miami, I think it was) police station, with several male police gathering around Canseco, laughing, smiling, asking for autographs and pictures, etc. ..And, of course, "Go, O.J."... They pretend to be against the crime, but they are always on the male's side when it happens.

Pro-male, anti-woman bigotry is the main part of the problem, so that "everyone is against" all these things, as long as they aren't real. As soon as they are real, an event happens--just like that, they are on the male's side. Scary.