We lost Jana Mackey last week, a young feminist activist who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend. Adolfo Garcia-Nunez killed her, and after he was arrested killed himself.
There’s a facebook group about Jana, where people are posting pictures and anecdotes about her. Her funeral will be held today. Her family is asking that if you wish to donate, you can send donations to:
Jana Mackey Support for Public Advocacy Fund
c/o Dean of Law
Green Hall
1535 W. 15th St.
Lawrence, KS 66045
Thanks to Veronica for letting us all know about Jana. My thoughts are with Jana and her family.
I am very sorry to hear this, It is very sad and disturbing news.
I posted on that yestereday. I am furious that this evil man would kill someone as good and as kindhearted as Jana.
So unbelievably sad.
[...] Thanks to Jill at Feministe for the links. Posted in In The News | Tags: advocacy, crime, domestic violence, feminism, Jana Mackey, murder [...]
Not to derail it, but wasn’t Garcia still only a suspect in the case? I don’t think we need to be gratuitously slinging the word “murderer” around. Because that’s unjust, unjustified and, you know, it kind of makes us look like assholes if he turns out to have been innocent.
Hey, Mike? Go eat shit and die. How’s that for gratuitous? Wrong fucking thread, meep.
This is so very sad.
Jack:
It’s about up to your usual standard. I had a bet with myself about how many posts it would take for someone to be an asshole, and damn it, now I owe myself money.
I didn’t argue that he didn’t do it, did I? I also didn’t say that she shouldn’t be mourned or that nobody should be sad at her death. So, please, take a running jump.
So, please, take a running jump.
You first, ass.
I had a bet with myself about how many posts it would take for someone to be an asshole, and damn it, now I owe myself money.
You already did owe yourself money, meep. The first asshole posted the fifth comment.
Here’s a couple of blog posts on the same subject, about Jana Mackey:
http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2008/07/long_live_the_memory_of_jana_m.html
and
http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2008/07/community_stunned_by_murder_of.html
Well, Mike, after he was arrested he killed himself, so I don’t think a trial where he’s found not guilty is likely at this point. It’s pretty obvious he killed her. Read the links, dude.
And I think this thread should be respectful to Jana’s memory and should honor her. Sad that it’s mostly a coupla dudes calling each other assholes. Sigh.
I don’t understand how someone so involved in the fight against domestic violence ended up in such a dangerous situation herself. I’m sure it’s an extremely complicated answer.
What an extraordinary woman. I just wish I could understand why people–and I think most people do this at some point–afford others the kindness they can’t or won’t extend to themselves.
Sad that it’s mostly a coupla dudes calling each other assholes.
True. I’m sorry for my own contributions to the thread.
Nor will there be a trial in which he is found guilty.
And committing suicide is not evidence that someone is guilty of murder. There are any number of reasons this man may have killed himself, assuming it was, in fact, suicide. I could speculate all kinds of things, but I’ll save it for another time.
Since when do links prove anything other than the fact that there’s a website on the other end of them?
Speaking only for myself, I read every word of every link provided (twice) and did a little research of my own, and I have been unable to find a single source that confirms this man killed anyone.
Here is what Law School Dean, Gail Agrawal, said about Jana:
I think doing our best not to play judge a jury, especially without having all the facts, falls directly under that heading. Reminding us that the man was still only a suspect who was never convicted does more to honor Jana’s memory and the social justice that she dedicated her life to, than presenting unfounded assumptions and speculation as fact.
And jumping right in the middle of it to wag your finger in their faces is much more respectful. ::sigh::
I know a man killed her, but it’s stuff like this that makes me feel like LIFE itself just screws you over when you are a woman (and therefore feel like giving up), because it happens all the time, the surprise is sadly gone.
I think the surprise and disbelief that Jana Mackey was the “ultimate” victim of DV really shows that people really believe that DV is something that would never happen to them. It’s that false sense of security in thinking that (potential) victims are the ones that can stop or prevent abuse. If only. And I was really a bit shocked by the comment by her associate from NOW in the one link…“It appears now she’s been the ultimate victim,” Rueff said. “I really could not believe she got killed because she was just such a remarkable woman.” What does this person think about victims of DV in general??
That had me a bit confused too. What Rueff said feels a little too much like victim-blaming – like it’s more believable (acceptable?) when a not-so-remarkable woman is a victim? I don’t think that’s exactly what she meant; hopefully it was a poor choice of words and nothing more. Still, it’s unsettling.
What a fucked up comments section. A young woman is dead and trolls start slinging poo at each other.
I had a friend who was in a similar situation: self-proclaimed feminist, very knowledgeable about DV, and victim of abuse herself. In her situation it seemed like a a combination of a couple of things. When “it wasn’t that bad” she thought that he was just being frustrated and snappy and that abuse wasn’t something that would happen to her. He was a perfect sweetheart during the previous year they’d been dating, you see, and was having trouble making friends and finding a job when he moved in with her. By the time it did get too bad for her to deal with she was already too commited and too afraid to leave. It took a lot of emotional support from her friends and several tries at leaving before she managed to get out. And she had a surefire refuge: home for her was three hours away and she owned the car. It sounds like Jana didn’t have that.
Blessings, Jana. I hadn’t heard of you before this, but the world certainly needs more goodhearted people. You will be missed.
Responses like these really, really bother me, for the same reasons that corey mentioned. It’s like people think that only weak women or unenlightened women or unremarkable women can be victims of domestic or intimate partner violence, so it’s shocking when apparently strong, feminist, remarkable women are victims. As if some women should be smart enough to avoid it and others aren’t? Or it makes sense for some women because they’re somehow deficient? Those are victim-blaming attitudes, they’re demeaning, and they make me really fucking angry. (Jane, I’m not trying to unfairly target you here in quoting your comment.)
But focusing on the news itself; it’s so sad, and so angering. God.
No kidding. I know her family members have shown up on other threads, and it would make me sick if they saw this. It sounds like she was a wonderful woman who the world is worse without; I don’t think much more than that needs to be said. (And, Libarbarian, in case you’re wondering, that’s why your comments are getting deleted — they’re victim-blaming BS, and I’m not putting them up here).
I haven’t deleted any comments other than Libarbarians, but consider this a warning that I’m going to start. And if people prove themselves unable to stick to the topic at hand — the fact that a bright young woman’s life was snuffed out far too soon — I’m going to delete all the comments on the thread and then close them down (that includes comments complaining about why I’m changing the comment policy for this post; if it’s not clear, I don’t know what to tell you). In that spirit, I’m deleting my own previous comment, since it was off-topic and unnecessary. Not fucking around here.
I don’t think people mean it against “other” women, I think what they’re trying to say (and I imagine it’s hard to use words perfectly when interviewed about the loss of a loved one) is that she was such a great person and so important in their lives that the hole left by her death is especially large -for them-. I’ve been varying degrees of upset over many deaths, but that doesn’t mean I think any death is not sad.
I hope you don’t think this point has escaped me. This is terrible tragedy, and as a survivor of decades of domestic abuse and violence, I made a post at my blog to honor Jana for her commitment to helping victims.
While I understand the reason for imposing narrower commenting guidelines here, I would just like to say that I think it’s unfair to call people “trolls” simply for voicing an unpopular point of view.
And I will leave it at that.
I worked at a dv shelter for a bit, and not one of my coworkers didn’t have some history of domestic violence in their (often near) pasts. We are passionate about what we have experienced for the most part, so as sad as this is, it does not seem to me the great anomaly that others may perceive it to be.
Ms. Mackey may have made some unfortunate choices in life, but her ability to take her negativity and refocus it to help others is what made her shine.
(I should add that I didn’t know of her before these blogs, and so this is a lot of postulating)
…and now that I’m thinking about Why Her, I can’t remember where I read it, but Strong Assertive Women are definitely not immune to abuse, it just starts out differently. Predators adapt, with an assertive woman, they WILL make an effort to hide the red flags. By the time the woman realise she’s in the slowly boiling pot, she’s too ASHAME to identified it as such, feeling that HER, especially her, should have known better. When really, it’s not about her, predators adapt.
A young woman is dead and trolls start slinging poo at each other.
And, just to reiterate, I am completely sorry for my own asinine bullshit. To an extreme.
Mercurial Georgia:
You are absolutely right! And you said it so well…
What Jack said about the comment: “I don’t understand how someone so involved in the fight against domestic violence ended up in such a dangerous situation herself.”
As a survivor of DV, comments like these just hit me in the gut. We need to be asking ourselves why HE did what he did and NOT why SHE stayed with him.
I agree with you completely Daomadan. I think just in general it’s hard for people to get past the irony in the situations like these. Very few people actually move beyond that and ask how we can actually fix the problem in the first place.
Jana Mackey made a difference in many people’s lives. This poem, written by Edna St. Vincent Millay in honor of feminist activist Inez Mulholland (who died at age 30), reminded me of Jana and her commitment to making the world a better place. We can all continue Jana’s work.
Upon this marble bust that is not I
Lay the round, formal wreath that is not fame;
But in the forum of my silenced cry
Root ye the living tree whose sap is flame.
I, that was proud and valiant, am no more; –
Save as a dream that wanders wide and late,
Save as a wind that rattles the stout door,
Troubling the ashes in the sheltered grate.
The stone will perish; I shall be twice dust.
Only my standard on a taken hill
Can cheat the mildew and the red-brown rust
And make immortal my adventurous will.
Even now the silk is tugging at the staff;
Take up the song; forget the epitaph.
Thank you for writing about this. When I was in college with Jana, she was an inspiration to me. I have no doubt that her strong commitment and perseverance are a big piece of why I do the work I’m doing today.
[...] a regular, lurking reader of Feministe, I was saddened by the News of Domestic Violence advocate Jana Mackey, who was tragically murdered by her abusive Boyfriend. What was worse were the comments. It’s [...]
No kidding. I know her family members have shown up on other threads, and it would make me sick if they saw this. It sounds like she was a wonderful woman who the world is worse without; I don’t think much more than that needs to be said.
I don’t want to get into email exchanges, but I know Jill puts up with a lot of trolls. Be nice. I had to deal with the freaks at AutoAdmit dissing me and posting fake comments of female law student. (That I deleted at the request of the women.) I had an unrelated reader email me and asked me to commit suicide. (I emailed back a thank you letter.) It gets boring real fast and doesn’t change our political views. Calling bloggers “fucktards” doesn’t makes us suddenly go “Anonymous Stalker Dude is right about Bush being the bestest president ever.”
Sorry to go off-thread.
On topic: the Springs of Tampa is a domestic violence shelter. Hit the link if you wish to donate or help out.
Aaaaand I just deleted a few comments, and now I’m shutting down the thread.
My thoughts are with Jana’s family. We’re truly sorry for your loss.
[...] disappointed to say that I had to shut down this thread because of victim-blaming and off-topic comments. But The Holy Fatman at Shakesville has a great [...]
[...] FEMINISTE: We lost Jana Mackey last week, a young feminist activist who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend. [...]
[...] week has also seen some shitflinging in the femisphere: Feministe has been allowing bullying in its comment threads when certain people (OK, me and Lottie) have said some things which were reasonable but unpopular. [...]
[...] people reacted to as falling into the “Why did she stay?” trap, this one written by Jane: I don’t understand how someone so involved in the fight against domestic violence ended up in [...]
[...] Getting Caught in the Cycle At first I was going to write about the asshole who claimed to be an activist for women, but instead raped them until I saw this post on Feministe. [...]