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Original poster

Jack the Ripper tattoo

75 replies

Graasspp · 31/07/2023 22:25

Just why. I saw one in the flesh, the silhouette of him standing on a victoriana street with a knife in his hand.

What would you think of someone with this permanently on their bicep?

OP posts:
doubtfulguest · 02/08/2023 17:42

I'd think they were likely thick as a shite, misogynist and possibly dangerous.

ManateeFair · 02/08/2023 17:50

Graasspp · 31/07/2023 22:32

It's not really my issue what this person puts on their body. I can't say too much but it's someone I'm quite scared of.

The fact that this person is already someone you are quite scared of is a lot more important than any tattoo he might have. The concerning thing for me isn't the tattoo, it's the fact they have made you scared.

In answer to the question "What would you think of someone with a tattoo of Jack the Ripper?" I think my answer would be, assuming that they were a stranger, that I would think it was a poor choice but I would also wonder if they thought of Jack the Ripper as more of a Gothic horror character than a real person who murdered five women.

I'd also wonder how long they'd had the tattoo, because it's only relatively recently that people have started to consider Jack the Ripper in the same terms that we consider modern serial killers. For a long time - even within a couple of years of the actual murders - he was the subject of jokey music hall songs, used as a character in films and comics for entertainment etc. For perspective, I once played Jack the Ripper as a comedy villain in a primary school play when I was 11 and nobody suggested it was in bad taste. I genuinely don't think that a Jack the Ripper tattoo would even have raised an eyebrow 30 years ago. I'm not saying that makes it all right, but I would be wondering about context.

However, if you asked me "What would you think of someone who has behaved in a way that scares me?" I would assume there was something badly wrong with their behaviour if you felt threatened by them, tattoo or no tattoo.

ManateeFair · 02/08/2023 17:51

FoodCentre · 02/08/2023 17:26

I hope you’re including all the people who get off on true crime podcasts in that net.

Agreed! People who watch documentaries and the news are ghouls, too. You just KNOW they get off on it.

Do grow up.

Siameasy · 02/08/2023 17:54

It depends on the context. It could be someone into crime stories. He sounds an off-putting guy but is the image really that recognisable for it to be done to shock or intimidate as I can’t picture it and will have to Google

MouseMinge · 02/08/2023 17:55

The Five is a wonderful book and the podcast she did was great too. There was a second series about the victims of a man who was murdering women during the second world war and was known as the blackout ripper. Again, all about the women's lives and little if nothing about the scum that murdered them.

I don't know what I'd do/say if I saw someone with a Jack the Ripper tattoo but there's a chance I'd blurt out "Why the fuck have you got THAT tattoo?!"

ManateeFair · 02/08/2023 17:55

whatfreshheck · 02/08/2023 17:23

Slightly off topic but there is a brilliant book called "the five" by Hallie Rubenhold. About the Rippers victims and their lives but doesn't talk about their murderer. Excellent book that brings the focus back to the victims.

Yes, it's an excellent book - a really interesting study of the plight of women in poverty in the Victorian era, and how few choices they had in life.

MouseMinge · 02/08/2023 17:57

Re true crime podcasts. A lot of them are done by women and women are the major audience. I don't think many people are getting off on it, it's more of a sort of fascination with the horror and the fear. I used to listen to them in the past and read books about serial killers when I was younger which I always felt a bit ashamed about but I wanted to know why and maybe, without being fully aware of it, how to not be a victim of someone who was like that. I think there's a huge difference between a woman listening to a true crime podcast and some arsehole wandering around with serial killers tattooed on their stupid bodies.

ManateeFair · 02/08/2023 17:58

is the image really that recognisable for it to be done to shock or intimidate

I mean, the OP describes it as an image of a man standing on a Victorian street at night, holding a knife. Who the fuck else do you think it would be? A sushi chef on his way home from work? An itinerant utensil salesman?

FoodCentre · 02/08/2023 18:02

@ManateeFair what's wrong with you then, woke up on the wrong side of bed?Hmm

Siameasy · 02/08/2023 18:04

FoodCentre · 02/08/2023 18:02

@ManateeFair what's wrong with you then, woke up on the wrong side of bed?Hmm

She sounds like she has issues 😂 I don’t think it’s worth much of a response

FoodCentre · 02/08/2023 18:05

MouseMinge · 02/08/2023 17:57

Re true crime podcasts. A lot of them are done by women and women are the major audience. I don't think many people are getting off on it, it's more of a sort of fascination with the horror and the fear. I used to listen to them in the past and read books about serial killers when I was younger which I always felt a bit ashamed about but I wanted to know why and maybe, without being fully aware of it, how to not be a victim of someone who was like that. I think there's a huge difference between a woman listening to a true crime podcast and some arsehole wandering around with serial killers tattooed on their stupid bodies.

Yeah this. To compare watching factual content to glorifying killers is very silly. Some content creators are capitalising though, and aren't in it for the right reasons.

QueenCamilla · 02/08/2023 18:08

I wouldn't assume dangerous. I'd assume a plain twat. Uneducated, under-achieving and has never/will never achieve anything of note. Most likely ugly to look at and most definitely in possession of an off-putting personality.
Is well aware of all of the above and is trying to get over his small dick syndrome by playing a moody hard man - I have nothing&no one because I don't need it&them.

I suppose the tattoo draws the focus away from the ugly mug.

dooneyousmugelf · 02/08/2023 19:56

It's going to be either a) an attention seeker who thinks they're really edgy b) a blatant misogynist who thinks they're really edgy. Tough one

Highlyflavouredgravy · 02/08/2023 20:50

ManateeFair · 02/08/2023 17:58

is the image really that recognisable for it to be done to shock or intimidate

I mean, the OP describes it as an image of a man standing on a Victorian street at night, holding a knife. Who the fuck else do you think it would be? A sushi chef on his way home from work? An itinerant utensil salesman?

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

pimplebum · 02/08/2023 22:40

Great! My daughter and other women can easily avoid and I won't be working with him 👍

Chefwithnolifeds · 04/08/2023 10:33

Dramatico · 02/08/2023 16:57

Wait, I have to know more about this 'serial killer totem pole'! So you mean, the faces of various serial killers going up a totem pole?? That is seriously disturbed.

Show quote history

Yes, think it was dahmer, bundy, John Wayne gacey (in clown getup) and I can't remember the other person.

I don't see it as disturbing, people have lots of things tattooed on them, most being phases (Chinese, tribal, butterflies) I don't see it as a red flag, its unique in tattoo form..

Not everyone has a tattoo for a 'reason'

My tattoos have meanings to me, I have life is fragile/fragility of life tattooed on me in taglog, I'm not Filipino, I'm a middle aged white woman from the Midlands 😅 but I wanted something when I miscarried and a Filipino friend and co-worker both from different regions helped me in the design.

I have 2 very different koi to represent both my Pisces children..

Would I have a serial killer tattoo? Probably not.....although a silhouette of a man in a Cape an a deerstalker hat.. intruiging.

Chefwithnolifeds · 04/08/2023 10:39

Agreed, iv been reading about true crime since I was in my teens, I don't get off on it.

I 'enjoy' for want of a better word, the understanding and psychology behind each person..nature over nurture.

I find a lot of the documentaries repetitive and dumbed down, glossing over a lot of the story.

Frogmila · 04/08/2023 10:50

Zero empathy or imagination about covers it. A bit of a misogynist. Judgemental and probably thought women fallen on hard times were fair game and less than human. Would probably get nasty if asked why he had a tattoo of someone who had brutally murdered several women, even if it is sn unsolved crime.

It being a while ago doesn't make it any less awful for them at the time. It must have been terrifying for other homeless women around the area too. A lot like then Sutcliffe was at large. Maybe he could add one of him if he has any space.

Reading true crime for fun is different than tattooing images of murderers upon oneself. I think it's a rather ghoulish form of entertainment to read about others' suffering from the comfort of one's own home but it is just information. Commemoration is a step beyond.

A serial killer totem pole? What about the victims? If their family member was brutalised, I'm sure any of these oddballs would be incensed if their murderer was commemorated on some idiot's body.

The woman tattooing Hindley on herself is utterly brainless. Some of the victims' siblings must be still alive. Horrible taste.

Frogmila · 04/08/2023 10:55

Celebrating male 'dominance'/ violence I think is the crux of it.

GolgafrinchamB · 04/08/2023 11:02

A helpful indicator that this is a person best avoided.

Part of the point of an image like that has got to be to intimidate women. “Here’s an image representing the most well known murderer of women, who got away with it”

…yeah, no thanks, dude.

Growlybear83 · 04/08/2023 11:07

I would think anyone with a tattoo of any kind was a twat, and I've yet to see anyone who's appearance was enhanced in any way by a tattoo. I suppose a Jack the Ripper tattoo is even worse than many though.

Beenhereforever1978 · 04/08/2023 11:07

ManateeFair · 02/08/2023 17:58

is the image really that recognisable for it to be done to shock or intimidate

I mean, the OP describes it as an image of a man standing on a Victorian street at night, holding a knife. Who the fuck else do you think it would be? A sushi chef on his way home from work? An itinerant utensil salesman?

Hahahhaaaaaa!

I'm definitely getting the 'five' book. Thanks to those who recommended, what a great concept.

And I'd probably just think "ooooh. What an edgelord". Then I'd question why you'd have that on a bicep. Doesn't it look all wobbly?

LakieLady · 04/08/2023 11:43

I think it's sick to have a tatt of a serial killer, any serial killer, but especially a misogynist one. I'd think that anyone who had one was definitely a crass ignoramus and quite probably a misogynist themselves, in the same way as I'd think someone with a tattoo of Hitler was probably a fascist or a fascist sympathiser.

I wonder if the people who regard images of Jack the Ripper as in some way iconic would feel the same about a tattoed image of Levi Bellfield, Peter Sutcliffe or Fred and Rose West? The passage of time doesn't make it any less offensive imo.

WunWun · 04/08/2023 11:52

Its definitely a massive red flag. Maybe just that he's an ignorant thinks he's edgy twat or something more sinister. Whatever, definitely a massive red flag

I was put off a guy once because he had a Clockwork Orange tattoo. I did ask him why he chose it and he said it was his favourite film of all time, which didn't help 😁

GolgafrinchamB · 04/08/2023 12:02

ManateeFair · 02/08/2023 17:58

is the image really that recognisable for it to be done to shock or intimidate

I mean, the OP describes it as an image of a man standing on a Victorian street at night, holding a knife. Who the fuck else do you think it would be? A sushi chef on his way home from work? An itinerant utensil salesman?

😂😂😂

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