“People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy and I can’t do that as Bruce Wayne, as a man I’m flesh and blood I can be ignored I can be destroyed but as a symbol, as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting”

The above quote is from the movie Batman Begins. Bruce Wayne is talking about the need for Batman, the fact that a symbol relates well to Jack The Ripper. Where Batman is scary for fictional criminals, Jack The Ripper is the monster in the night for women. Jack was an unseen monster that stalked the night, uncatchable and always a threat; he was the embodiment of fear and because he was known but never caught he was the best.

Recently there has been a lot of talk about women and the danger that they face when walking around at night. There has been talk of giving men a curfew and a more general demonisation of the male population.

The thing is that it’s all about the narrative. By the narrative I mean what the media is saying, how they repeatedly give out propaganda to suit an ideal and how we’re told what to think. The current story from the media and some feminist groups is that women are weak and men are scary monsters that will kill in the night. Hello Jack!

We should be keeping up the idea that women should be empowered equals to men. Women should feel free to go out as and when they wish without fear because the world isn’t too dangerous in truth. There are just a lot of bad things that happen; I’m a five-foot-three male, not well built and I could be attacked at night or even during the day; even a six-foot-six muscle bound meathead could get stabbed without chance to defend himself but we cannot just hide, we have to live our lives.

Jack The Ripper died back in Victorian times which I know because no-one lives forever in real life but as a symbol he is the fear in the night, the knife in the dark and the reality of the world. There will always be danger. There will always be fear. There will always be a Jack.

Every now and then someone will be murdered or attacked and everyone will lose their minds over it. We need to learn not to over react, not to brand an entire group as evil because of the actions of a few. We need to understand that Jack The Ripper exists, maybe as a man, maybe as a woman but certainly as fear of the night.

Don’t fear The Ripper. Don’t fear the night. The world is not a nice place but the narrative that we must tell ourselves is one that provides the illusion of safety. We can live more happy and confident lives if we don’t live in fear.