Hi J&J,
I agree to some extent, but we can also infer much by his choice of victims and killing grounds. The average man is not comfortable soliciting prostitutes, but our Jack was, which means he had become comfortable soliciting them before he began killing them. I think it's reasonable also to assume he was comfortable with the environment of the East End. He felt his knowledge of the area, its layout, people, police, etc. would allow him an edge, and apparently it did.
The idea that the Ripper did not write the graffiti took hold as Kosminski grew in popularity as a suspect. Many assumed he'd be illiterate, or not be able to write in English (not true), or figured he'd know how to spell 'Jew' since he was one (a reasonable argument). However, unless you favor Kosminski or a suspect like him, there's really not a lot of reason for supposing the graffiti was anything less than a message from the Ripper.
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott
I agree to some extent, but we can also infer much by his choice of victims and killing grounds. The average man is not comfortable soliciting prostitutes, but our Jack was, which means he had become comfortable soliciting them before he began killing them. I think it's reasonable also to assume he was comfortable with the environment of the East End. He felt his knowledge of the area, its layout, people, police, etc. would allow him an edge, and apparently it did.
The idea that the Ripper did not write the graffiti took hold as Kosminski grew in popularity as a suspect. Many assumed he'd be illiterate, or not be able to write in English (not true), or figured he'd know how to spell 'Jew' since he was one (a reasonable argument). However, unless you favor Kosminski or a suspect like him, there's really not a lot of reason for supposing the graffiti was anything less than a message from the Ripper.
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott
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