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Greetings all,
It is amazing to me how much information our experts in the ripperology community have discovered on such an elusive (and interesting) fellow as Francis Tumblety, even though it will probably never be enough. It is not amazing to me that sides have been taken on his status as a viable JTR suspect. That’s a good thing for truth, because it ensures quality arguments (sometimes heated). In view of this, I am still having difficulty accepting something in the case of Francis Tumblety. It seems that many have an image of Francis Tumblety as a cowardly unaggressive charlatan who avoided personal violence at all costs. Taken further by a number of ripperologists, this would mean Tumblety could not have had the courage/fortitude to perpetrate the Whitechapel murders, thus, should not be considered a viable JTR suspect.
I believe when one looks at the field of available evidence in its entirety it reveals someone quite the opposite of this image. This man led two lives, a public one he attempted to promote and a private one he attempted to hide. He had the courage to travel constantly, even internationally, with a business that required daily personal contact with strangers of all flavors. Tumblety must have exuded confidence in order to have been successful in his chosen profession as an Indian Herb Doctor …but was he aggressive? Let’s start with the traits of an aggressive, or malignant, narcissist:
This is the Hare Psychopathy checklist for traits of an aggressive narcissist-
1. Glibness/superficial charm
2. Grandiose sense of self-worth
3. Pathological lying
4. Cunning/manipulative
5. Lack of remorse or guilt
6. Shallow affect (expressing emotions deceptively)
7. Callous/lack of empathy
8. Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
Here are Hotchkiss' seven deadly sins of narcissism-
1. Shamelessness
2. Magical thinking
3. Arrogance
4. Envy
5. Entitlement-DEFIANCE OF THEIR WILL IS A NARCISSISTIC INJURY THAT CAN TRIGGER NARCISSISTIC RAGE
6. Exploitation
7. Bad boundaries (societal norms do not pertain to them).
“When reduced to the subdued state NA (Narcissist-Aggressive)- this individual strongly resembles the self-flaunting UNAGGRESSIVE narcissistic personage N. Of course, he "plays the game", and with his hyperactivity and tendency toward "hypersexuality" he would involve himself in many compulsive dependencies, usually as the subjugator but sometimes as the subjugated individual. As is often the case in the dependency of subjugation, he may become overtly sadistic, especially in frustrating and in playing on the emotions of his subjugated companions, of which there may be several at one time. And he too, if opposed, seeks retribution in the self-justified vindictive triumph. This individual when frustrated can be incited to a narcissistic rage, an aggressive-vindictive rage, or a combined narcissistic-aggressive rage (NA rage).” (Benis A.M. (1985, 2nd edition 2008): Chaps. 5 & 6, in Toward Self & Sanity: on the genetic origins of the human character. Psychological Dimensions, New York, pp. 53-54, 116-122.)
How can one argue against Tumblety being a classic aggressive narcissist? I do not see any of these traits he did not possess. -Grandiose, superficial charm, pathological lying, manipulative, lack of remorse, failure to accept responsibility, bad boundaries, etc. Also, Benis goes onto say that NA types love to travel, just as Tumblety did.
This leads to HOTCHKISS’ NARCISSISTIC RAGE and the triggering of this rage due to narcissistic injury, a trait the deceptive/manipulating Tumblety would certainly have wanted hidden (bad for his image and bad for business). Is there any evidence of Tumblety exhibiting this particular behavior? Recall, Francis Tumblety’s reply to a New York World reporter interviewing him soon after he arrived back in the U.S. from the Whitechapel district. When asked how long the police put him in prison, he stated:
“Two or three days; but I don’t care to talk about it. When I think of the way I was treated in London, IT MAKES ME LOSE ALL CONTROL OF MYSELF.”
Chris Scott just reprinted an article where Tumblety was accused of hiring thugs to beat up an actor. Joe Chetcuti has recently written about four other instances where Tumblety was personally accused of rage/violence (most can be found on Casebook), keeping in mind that they are classified as accusations and not outright convictions:
1. Tumblety kicking an asthmatic patient down a stairwell in 1864.
2. Tumblety initiated a physical fight against an editor named Ralston. Scroll down to where it says "Whipped by an Editor"
3. Tumblety got angry at an attorney on the witness stand in 1880 over the questioning, and the attorney said "I thought (Tumblety) would spring at me to strike. There was a commotion in court."
4. Charges were brought against Tumblety on June 4, 1889 because he struck a man named Davis in the face with his cane in New York. This can be found on pages 189-190 in T. Riordan’s Prince of Quacks book:
“Tumblety was on Clinton Place (now East and West Eight Street) north of Washington Square Park in Manhattan. Washington Square Park was an early an well-known location for picking up male prostitutes. Tumblety saw a young man by the name of George Davis and struck up a conversation about the weather. According to Davis, Tumblety soon "used most insulting language." When Davis objected to this, Tumblety hit him across the face with his cane, reportedly laying his cheek open almost to the bone. As this was happening, a policeman showed up and Tumblety and Davis took off in different directions. Both were soon caught and taken to the Mercer Street Police Station…. At the station, Davis told his story and filed a charge of assault against Tumblety. Apparently the policeman who came on the scene offered support to this charge.”
If you see one cockroach, chances are there are a dozen others hiding from view. We have five known reported cases of Tumblety accused of responding aggressively, so chances are there were dozens more. Even though none led to convictions, my bet is that they all occurred.
Even if I am wrong and Francis Tumblety was not an aggressive narcissist (exhibiting so many narcissistic traits was just coincidental), the evidence clearly demonstrates that he had an aggressive/violent side and was susceptible to bouts of rage. Lack of remorse, lack of emphathy, and rage are a dangerous recipe.
Sincerely,
Mike
It is amazing to me how much information our experts in the ripperology community have discovered on such an elusive (and interesting) fellow as Francis Tumblety, even though it will probably never be enough. It is not amazing to me that sides have been taken on his status as a viable JTR suspect. That’s a good thing for truth, because it ensures quality arguments (sometimes heated). In view of this, I am still having difficulty accepting something in the case of Francis Tumblety. It seems that many have an image of Francis Tumblety as a cowardly unaggressive charlatan who avoided personal violence at all costs. Taken further by a number of ripperologists, this would mean Tumblety could not have had the courage/fortitude to perpetrate the Whitechapel murders, thus, should not be considered a viable JTR suspect.
I believe when one looks at the field of available evidence in its entirety it reveals someone quite the opposite of this image. This man led two lives, a public one he attempted to promote and a private one he attempted to hide. He had the courage to travel constantly, even internationally, with a business that required daily personal contact with strangers of all flavors. Tumblety must have exuded confidence in order to have been successful in his chosen profession as an Indian Herb Doctor …but was he aggressive? Let’s start with the traits of an aggressive, or malignant, narcissist:
This is the Hare Psychopathy checklist for traits of an aggressive narcissist-
1. Glibness/superficial charm
2. Grandiose sense of self-worth
3. Pathological lying
4. Cunning/manipulative
5. Lack of remorse or guilt
6. Shallow affect (expressing emotions deceptively)
7. Callous/lack of empathy
8. Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
Here are Hotchkiss' seven deadly sins of narcissism-
1. Shamelessness
2. Magical thinking
3. Arrogance
4. Envy
5. Entitlement-DEFIANCE OF THEIR WILL IS A NARCISSISTIC INJURY THAT CAN TRIGGER NARCISSISTIC RAGE
6. Exploitation
7. Bad boundaries (societal norms do not pertain to them).
“When reduced to the subdued state NA (Narcissist-Aggressive)- this individual strongly resembles the self-flaunting UNAGGRESSIVE narcissistic personage N. Of course, he "plays the game", and with his hyperactivity and tendency toward "hypersexuality" he would involve himself in many compulsive dependencies, usually as the subjugator but sometimes as the subjugated individual. As is often the case in the dependency of subjugation, he may become overtly sadistic, especially in frustrating and in playing on the emotions of his subjugated companions, of which there may be several at one time. And he too, if opposed, seeks retribution in the self-justified vindictive triumph. This individual when frustrated can be incited to a narcissistic rage, an aggressive-vindictive rage, or a combined narcissistic-aggressive rage (NA rage).” (Benis A.M. (1985, 2nd edition 2008): Chaps. 5 & 6, in Toward Self & Sanity: on the genetic origins of the human character. Psychological Dimensions, New York, pp. 53-54, 116-122.)
How can one argue against Tumblety being a classic aggressive narcissist? I do not see any of these traits he did not possess. -Grandiose, superficial charm, pathological lying, manipulative, lack of remorse, failure to accept responsibility, bad boundaries, etc. Also, Benis goes onto say that NA types love to travel, just as Tumblety did.
This leads to HOTCHKISS’ NARCISSISTIC RAGE and the triggering of this rage due to narcissistic injury, a trait the deceptive/manipulating Tumblety would certainly have wanted hidden (bad for his image and bad for business). Is there any evidence of Tumblety exhibiting this particular behavior? Recall, Francis Tumblety’s reply to a New York World reporter interviewing him soon after he arrived back in the U.S. from the Whitechapel district. When asked how long the police put him in prison, he stated:
“Two or three days; but I don’t care to talk about it. When I think of the way I was treated in London, IT MAKES ME LOSE ALL CONTROL OF MYSELF.”
Chris Scott just reprinted an article where Tumblety was accused of hiring thugs to beat up an actor. Joe Chetcuti has recently written about four other instances where Tumblety was personally accused of rage/violence (most can be found on Casebook), keeping in mind that they are classified as accusations and not outright convictions:
1. Tumblety kicking an asthmatic patient down a stairwell in 1864.
2. Tumblety initiated a physical fight against an editor named Ralston. Scroll down to where it says "Whipped by an Editor"
3. Tumblety got angry at an attorney on the witness stand in 1880 over the questioning, and the attorney said "I thought (Tumblety) would spring at me to strike. There was a commotion in court."
4. Charges were brought against Tumblety on June 4, 1889 because he struck a man named Davis in the face with his cane in New York. This can be found on pages 189-190 in T. Riordan’s Prince of Quacks book:
“Tumblety was on Clinton Place (now East and West Eight Street) north of Washington Square Park in Manhattan. Washington Square Park was an early an well-known location for picking up male prostitutes. Tumblety saw a young man by the name of George Davis and struck up a conversation about the weather. According to Davis, Tumblety soon "used most insulting language." When Davis objected to this, Tumblety hit him across the face with his cane, reportedly laying his cheek open almost to the bone. As this was happening, a policeman showed up and Tumblety and Davis took off in different directions. Both were soon caught and taken to the Mercer Street Police Station…. At the station, Davis told his story and filed a charge of assault against Tumblety. Apparently the policeman who came on the scene offered support to this charge.”
If you see one cockroach, chances are there are a dozen others hiding from view. We have five known reported cases of Tumblety accused of responding aggressively, so chances are there were dozens more. Even though none led to convictions, my bet is that they all occurred.
Even if I am wrong and Francis Tumblety was not an aggressive narcissist (exhibiting so many narcissistic traits was just coincidental), the evidence clearly demonstrates that he had an aggressive/violent side and was susceptible to bouts of rage. Lack of remorse, lack of emphathy, and rage are a dangerous recipe.
Sincerely,
Mike
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