None of us know

[richardnunweek]

Hello all,
The title of the thread should be obvious to all of us.
We have some first class brains on this site[ excluding myself... for the moment]Ha.. however the vast majority of Casebook consists of 'Ripper' enthusiasts, who have read a few books, and have been brainwashed into theory mode. nothing wrong with that..., however because of the implanted theories that we are all aware of, that have been regulary dscussed on site, we I feel have a distorted picture of the real events,
Each and every one of us, should dismiss other peoples opinions[ at least not treat.them as gospel], and have a very open mind on this case.
The answer is there somewhere, and it is proberly the most ' obvious '
Regards Richard,

[Bob Hinton]

Open mind?

The problem with an open mind is it is like a skip left on the highway - soon filled with other peoples rubbish.

The cry for people to have an open mind is usually uttered by those with ludicrous ideas whose only hope of getting anyone to listen to them is to insist everyone has an open mind and therefore hope that there is room for their nonsense.

A persons thoughts and conclusions should be formed by digesting and processing the information that is available to them. They should dismiss that information that is no more than wishful thinking and concentrate on information that can have some basis in fact.

On the boards we should think of ourselves as members of a jury. What we consider is the evidence laid before us. It is up to us to accept or refuse that information on the basis of how credible it is.

Asking a jury member to accept something because only you in the entire world believe something to be true is silly. We laughed at KFC and her 'Baphomet Idol' in the MJK photo and rightly so.

[revpetero]

I think it is impossible to have a completely open mind to the subject.

Everybody has theories and has read other peoples theories. The second you read them then impartiallity is impossible as your mind is already swimming with many ideas. Some plausible some laughable but all in all that is whats keeps people interested.

To have read all there is to read and heard all there is to hear and still have an open mind unpolluted by theories, then I suggest that maybe that mind will never have much in it.

Peter

[Limehouse]

I think the title of this thread is precisely the point that makes JrT so magnetic - none of us know.

For me, these are the points that make JrT an 'eternal Ripper' to use the words of Judith Walkowitz:

1) - The murderer was never caught - no closure
2) - The murderer's crimes were horrific in the extreme - and so perverse they provoked both horror and excitement.
3) - The popular press latched onto the interest in the crimes and kept the story going (possibly even inventing the soubriquet Jack the Ripper).
4) - The location of the murders and the lifestyle of the victims stimulated debate in two ways - the terrible conditions that the poor of the east end had to endure - or alternatively - the depraved lifestyle of the drink-sodden, Godless masses provoked the 'cleasing' work of the Ripper.

Add these ingredients together and you have an industry.

[Suzi]

Hi Richard-

OK- What are we to do then?...Dismiss other people's opinions -or keep an 'open mind'- we can't, as you suggest, do both!

Revpetero-

As to suspect theories- Being disinterested may be impossible- but being uninterested is definately not!

Suzi x

[revpetero]

Hi Richard-

Revpetero-

As to suspect theories- Being disinterested may be impossible- but being uninterested is definately not!

Suzi x

Fair Comment

[NOV9]

No one needs to know who Jack the Ripper is.

A Magic trick is no longer magic, when the trick is revealed.

All efforts to identify Jack should be crushed.

Identifying Jack is like looking into the void.

The mystery will up, and vanish like a fart in the wind.

All the books and movies will seem meaningless at the least.

And this wonderful chat line will disappear as well.

This is my opinion.

NOV9

[George Hutchinson]

I think the ability to question everything is more important than an open - or closed - mind. Just so long as the questioning is rational.

PHILIP

[BLUE WIZZARD]

Hey Nov9,

Are you off your meds or something?
What are you talking about?
You obviously need to seek help.
There is nothing in any of your posts that makes any sense.

[Graham]

Funny thing is, with the Whitechapel Murderer(s) we have not the faintest idea who he/they were, nor is it likely that we ever will. Yet speaking personally, what I have learned about society and the sociology of the LVP, along with police techniques and legal and establishment attitudes of the time, is something I don't think I could have absorbed elsewhere with even a fraction of the pleasure I've derived from my interest in JtR.

I don't think interest in JtR will ever disappear. It's been going since even before the last Whitechapel murder, and is as strong and as absorbing as ever...

The other funny thing is that my other major true-crime interest is the A6 Case - here, I am 99.9% convinced that I know who the perpetrator was, but I still don't know WHY!

Cheers,

Graham

[DarkPassenger]

JTR has become a huge shadow of itself. The details have become not facts but tools of the imagination. People on this board think sexually motivated crime does not happen, others like myself know it does. Both me and my intellectual rivals can call upon the "evidence" and the mythos of the crimes to prove anything we damn well like. There's ample evidence that it was a Royal conspiracy, a mad midwife and a Masonic ritual - but it probably wasn't any of those things. And there'll always be someone who will disagree with the truth when it eventually comes out and yes, they'll have the "evidence" to prove it too.