Jack's choice of victims

[Lika]

As we all know Jack most likely chose his victims because they were easy targets.But there is something bothering me and I'd like to ask you guys if it is no problem.
Since they were easy targets does that mean Jack was a bit of coward for not taking on someone his size or was his bloodlust simply so enormous?

[j.r-ahde]

Hello Lika!

Then answer to your question; Yes!

Meaning; yes, he picked the easiest targets to fullfill his thirst for blood!

Though, I have to add a slight crack to this pattern;

Mary Jane Kelly was known for being good in self-defence! Of course, we don't know, if she had ever encountered anyone with a knife...

All the best
Jukka

[Supe]

Jukka,

Mary Jane Kelly was known for being good in self-defence!

How is that known?

Don.

[Tom_Wescott]

Of course Jack the Ripper was a coward. Is that even open for debate?

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Christine]

The psychological profile suggests that he was sexually aroused by what he was doing, and therefore in a twisted way aroused by women, and that he thought prostitutes were worthless and therefore he was justified in killing them.

He may or may not have had a particular psychological need to kill middle-aged women, as MJK was younger, but this does suggest that he was trying to get back at women he perceived as being in a position to hurt him (like his mother).

Given all this, it is very unlikely that he would have attacked men, even weak and sickly men.

Take all this with a grain of salt, because you can definitely get other explanations of the psychology out of it. But serial killers almost never pick on people their own size as they perceive themselves as the victims and feel that they are entitled to revenge wrongs done to them.

[j.r-ahde]

Hello Supe!

OK, I admit, that trying to find the self-defence source is a needle in a haystack of "Mary Kelly" info, while visiting Google, but;

Anyway, the sentence was about like this: "...Mary Kelly was furious in defending her own turf..."

If I remember correctly, the website with the sentence was Danish!

Yes, it's my impression of the meaning!

All the best
Jukka

[mariag]

Being furious in defending her own turf- which could include swearing, screaming and stomping menacingly at other women who dared to frequent her corner is a far sight from being good at self defense.

Back to the original post, his choice of victims, like so many other SKs after him, was probably based on practicality. Prostitutes are easy prey by the nature of their business.

[Tom_Wescott]

I think you're referring to the 'Black Mary' character that one author (Farson?) created. There's no reason to assume there was any truth to all that.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[j.r-ahde]

Hello Tom!

Yes, a good point!

Mary Kelly seems to be the most favourite victim for fiction and urban legends!

All the best
Jukka

[DVV]

Of course Jack the Ripper was a coward. Is that even open for debate?

Tom Wescott

It's not worth debating, I'd agree.
But the fact that he cowardly killed several poor women doesn't mean he was a coward in his daily life.
We don't know.

Amitiés,
David

[Barnaby]

It's not worth debating, I'd agree.
But the fact that he cowardly killed several poor women doesn't mean he was a coward in his daily life.
We don't know.

Amitiés,
David

I would view a poisoner like Chapman as much more of a coward than Jack.

[Hellrider]

Indeed, after all Jack exposed to him to a risk of getting caught red-handed that was not insignificant at all

[kensei]

I was having a discussion about the Ripper case once with my girlfriend, who tends to get very emotional about such things. She was berating the Ripper as being one who preyed only on those who couldn't fight back, and I countered with, "Sounds like Mary Kelly might have given him a run for his money if she was sober." And she exclaimed, "But she wasn't! And he knew that!"

It's a bit of a slippery slope, I think. Jack was certainly a thankless, miserable, degenerate coward... but only to a point. His actions on the night of the double event, I think, show that he was also an adrenaline junkie who was willing to take incredible risks, dodging and ducking the cops as they searched for him in a concentrated dragnet. One could not call that cowardice, but I would stop short of calling it bravery.

[perrymason]

As we all know Jack most likely chose his victims because they were easy targets.But there is something bothering me and I'd like to ask you guys if it is no problem.
Since they were easy targets does that mean Jack was a bit of coward for not taking on someone his size or was his bloodlust simply so enormous?

Hi Lika,

I would think that if Jack the Ripper killed the Canonical 5, then you have the basis to make a case for the victims being chosen based on their homelessness, and therefore their being on the streets when Jack went hunting....which seems to be after midnight exclusively. At least that's the story with 80% of the Canonical Victims, the last victim had her own room, in her own name, and she was also somewhere between 14 and 20 years younger than her predecessors.

I dont think the victim choice was based on who he could subdue physically, that the women's weakness was a major influence on him.....but I do think the fact that they are women, and available in the dark, was relevant to him.

Best regards Lika

[WARSPITE]

Interesting thoughts, but I think he was just an opportunist, whos homicidal tendencies would periodically overwhelm any risks he was prepared to take. And he did take some, but probably more through hatred than any thrill seeking desire