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Trevor Bilquin
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 8:29 pm: |       |
I must say, the letters, both the hoaxes as well as the "real" ones fascinate me. And, looking through them today, I started to notice little things about them. Just some small idiosyncrasies that I noted.
Okay, first off, the Dear Boss letter:
I have, for some reason, the notion in my heart that JTR was a learned man, and this letter seems to speak to that idea. For instance, no words are spelled wrong, and the grammar is fairly good. Also, when the author speaks of the "proper red stuff" [it must be assumed that he is, of course, speaking of blood] he says that it turned "thick like glue". I believe that this statement backs up the theory that this letter could in fact be from JTR. Because honestly, how many common people in Whitechapel knew that blood congeals after awhile? Therefore, I propose that if this letter is indeed a real ripper letter, then it came from someone who was fairly intelligent, and who had a little knowledge of human blood. Also, there is the tone in which the letter is written. It seems as though the writer was taunting the police, but not excessively so. It's as though the letter was almost conversational, treating "Boss" as if they were on the same level.
The Saucy Jacky Postcard:
This, I believe, is definitely from the same source as the Dear Boss letter, and we already know how I feel about that letter. But that's pretty much generally accepted, so here's my other take on it. The author seems to be reassuring Boss, once again on that equal level, that he is truly the one who is doing the killing. And more often than not, serial killers taunt the ones who chase them, they like to "converse" with them.
The "From Hell" letter:
Alright, I've stated before that I believe JTR was an educated man. So this pretty much ousts this letter as authentic as far as I'm concerened. However, in the name of good scholarly standards, I am obliged to point out the things I noticed in this letter. First of all, the "Catch me when you can" rings true to the taunting theme, but I believe it to be a tad too explicit. But, catch me when you can could also be taken as "see you when I see you [or something of that sort]", implying that perhaps Lusk knew him. And the "From Hell" titling, I just find it, again, too expllicit. I do not believe that a TRUE serial killer would be so up front. And as for the kidney, well, the casebook says so itself, the findings on it's origins were inconclusive. There is also a theory on the message boards which states that the writing could have been done badly on purpose, to throw the police on a red herring. But I'm not sure on this either. It just seems too tricky for JTR to do. I believe that a true ripper letter would find the happy medium between extreme blatantness, and a convulted enigma.
Anyway, those were just some thoughts that I had about three of the letters.
O yes, and by the way, I realize that this kind of turned into a case FOR the authenticity of the Dear Boss letter, but I really couldn't help myself. So I apologize. Any comments are welcome and greatly aprreciated... |
Christopher T George
Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 471
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 10:20 am: | |
Hi, Trevor:
Thanks for your interesting thoughts about the Ripper letters. I admit that I have also had a long-standing fascination with these missives. Whether they are from the killer or not, they offer an intriguing window into the psychology of people of the day, be they hoaxers, attention-getters, just plain trouble-makers, . . . or the murderer!
You wrote:
Because honestly, how many common people in Whitechapel knew that blood congeals after awhile?
Sorry, Trevor, but I think this statement of yours is very naive. I think that anyone who lived in the poor streets of the East End at that date would have been very aware of the sight of blood, and that they would have seen blood on a daily basis in the streets and even in their own homes. They would have known from everyday observation that blood does congeal after a few hours.
Now, Trevor, to me, what is interesting, turning your idea around, is why the letter writer, presumably a hoaxer and perhaps a journalist, thought he was revealing a startling or fresh idea. As I say, to the poor of Whitechapel or Spitalfields I really believe the notion that blood congeals would have been "old hat" as they say in England.
All the best
Chris
(Message edited by ChrisG on December 11, 2003) |
Christopher T George
Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 472
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 11:34 am: | |
P.S. I am not saying of course that the letter writer necessarily thought the idea of blood congealing was something new or startling. It just strikes me that he may not have been as familiar with what happened to spilled blood as the poor of Whitechapel (I am presuming a jolly journalist or the like here). When he told the "Boss" that he tried to write with blood but that it went "thick like glue", the hoaxer, as I presume he was, might have thought he was saying something shocking or at least imparting a fact that sounded like information only the killer would know. Instead though it sounds like a line from a "Penny Dreadful" novel and it merely adds to the melodramatic unreality of the 25 September 1888 Dear Boss letter. 
All the best
Chris |
Erin Sigler
Detective Sergeant
Username: Rapunzel676
Post Number: 126
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 10:10 pm: | |
And more often than not, serial killers taunt the ones who chase them, they like to "converse" with them.
Trevor, I would say that the opposite is true. Sure, there are a few serial killers who wrote letters to the police--David Berkowitz, the Zodiac, the BTK Strangler, and Joseph Christopher (the "Forces of Evil" killer) are examples--but they seem to be in the minority. Furthermore, since the comment above was in reference to the "Dear Boss" letter, you should keep in mind that the "Boss" referred to by the author is the head of the Central News Agency, not the police. This, to me, is a pretty good clue that the writer was a journalist, since few people outside the industry would know that such a thing even existed (although most people who read newspapers today are at least aware of the AP and IP wires, although they may not be certain of their functions), or that it would even have a "boss" at all. Even those serial killers who have written to the press (Zodiac, for example) addressed their letters to specific news outlets, not a central news-gathering organization.
And in actuality, if you've ever read any of the letters written by other serial killers to the police and press, you'll see that the "From Hell" note is actually closer both in form and content to those than the "Dear Boss" letter. Check out the following passage from one of Berkowitz's letters:
"Hello from the cracks in the sidewalks of NYC and from the ants that dwell in these cracks and feed in the dried blood of the dead that has settled into the cracks. Hello from the gutters of NYC, which is filled with dog manure, vomit, stale wine, urine, and blood. Hello from the sewers of NYC which swallow up these delicacies when they are washed away by the sweeper trucks."
It is signed "In their blood and from the gutter-- 'Sam's creation' .44."
Sound a little familiar? Many of these guys probably do see themselves as existing in their some sort of private "hell"; as such, the "From Hell" letter is the only one of the letters (in my opinion, at least) that could have actually been written by Jack the Ripper.
|
Andrew Spallek
Inspector
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 286
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 12:12 pm: | |
Erin,
I don't think the taunting is as rare as you suggest. The Virginia snipers of 2002 did their share of taunting. John Gacy engaged in a sort of taunting, although not by mail. The New Your City bomber (I forget his name) of the 1940's is another. One characteristic of many serial killers is that they imagine themselves to be superior to everyone -- especially those trying to apprehend them. If you look at their background, it is often one of neglect or abuse, i.e. being made to feel inferior. They compensate for this with delusions of grandeur. Ironically, they are often above average in intelligence and thus have a certain amount of success in their taunting.
Andy S.
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Erin Sigler
Detective Sergeant
Username: Rapunzel676
Post Number: 132
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 12:27 pm: | |
Andrew, I don't think writing letters (which is what we're talking about--I realize taunting can take many forms) is rare, just not the norm. 
P.S. I don't consider the snipers serial killers, at least not in the same sense as the Ripper or Gacy. The same goes for "Mad Bomber" Metesky. Bombers, especially, are a breed apart. |
Andrew Spallek
Inspector
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 287
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 12:56 pm: | |
The "Dear Boss" letter:
Two things can be said with certainty: This is a taunt and this is the work of an well-educated writer. The handwriting is extremely neat and the spelling is impeccable. In particular, I note the word "knife's", a contraction for "knife is," complete with appropriate apostrophe. I suspect that this kind non-possessive contraction was not in common use in writing by persons of average or below average education in 1888. It seems more something a professional author or writer would be aware of and know how to write properly. On the other hand, certain features about the letter seem to indicate an attempt to portray a less literate author. For example, the sentence continued on top of page 2: "... police officers just for jolly wouldn't you." is both what my teachers used to call a "run on sentence" and it is improperly punctuated. It should properly be written "... police officers just for jolly. Wouldn't you?" or perhaps, less elegantly, "...police officers just for jolly, wouldn't you?" The lack of a question mark and lack of any punctuation after "jolly" in an otherwise well-written document is suggestive of someone trying to feign a lesser education.
The fact that this letter is address to the Central News Agency does not necessarily indicate it is the work of a journalist. A publicity seeker would be wiser to send his letter to a news agency than directly to the police, who might conceal it.
The "From Hell" Letter:
This is more problematic. Ignore the kidney for a moment and consider just the letter. The letter is a clear taunt, addressed to a pursuer. Many have argued that this is the work of an educated writer trying to appear uneducated. While that's possible, it's not quite that simple. It is difficult for one accustomed to writing in a neat hand to imitate a sloppy hand. But if we look closely, we see some indications of a more educated author:
1. Some word appear to be written quite neatly: "send you" (third-last line) and "only" (second-last line) could be examples of the author slipping back into his neat hand. They appear to be written too neatly to have been written by the same writer as many other words in the letter.
2. The spelling mistakes are interesting. Most of them are made on uncommon words or words that are tricky to spell. This would be indicative of one not fluent in English. Newcomers to English, especially those whose native language is phonetic, often resort to spelling unfamiliar English words phonetically. This is also true of semi-literate English speakers. "nise" and "knif" (which could also be an accidental dropping of the "e") are examples of this, as are "kidne" and "prasaned" (presumably an attempt to write "preserved" and usually transcribed "prasarved"). There is also a mistake in grammar when he writes "...I took from one women". Most transcibers miss the fact that he wrote the plural, "women", with the singular indefinite "one."
Some point out that the author does get some tricky spelling right: the "kn" in "knif", "fried", "half", "piece." These are tricky spelling, but they are fairly common words, so it isn't too surprising that they could be spelled correctly.
"tother" is a bit problematic. On the face, it seems an attempt to render in writing phonetically a common oral contraction for "the other," much like "tisent" for "it isn't." Non-native English speakers commonly make such mistakes even years after learning English.
Perhaps my biggest problem is the word "Sor." For someone who gets the tricky spelling above correct, it is nearly inconceivable to me that he would misspell such a common word as "sir."
One the whole, I would say this letter is most likely to have been written by a fairly well educated author, perhaps a non-native English speaker. But to say that he is well-educated does not necessarily preclude his being the Ripper.
Andy S.
(Message edited by Aspallek on December 12, 2003)
(Message edited by Aspallek on December 12, 2003)
(Message edited by Aspallek on December 12, 2003) |
Erin Sigler
Detective Sergeant
Username: Rapunzel676
Post Number: 134
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 10:58 pm: | |
Excellent analyis, Andrew. I agree with you on several counts. The "Dear Boss" letter seems to me to be the work of an educated, literate man trying to sound as he imagines a crazed killer would. The fake letters many of you have written in another thread are very instructive in this regard. We're not crazed killers ourselves, and most of us probably haven't had a lot of experience with them, so despite the fact that we know quite a bit about them and how they think our work probably isn't going to convince someone who's truly in the know. Even the Zodiac, while more literate than your average serial killer, shows clear signs of disordered thinking that are difficult to duplicate, unless you actually think that way. There is a desperate need to elevate himself, to feel superior to the police, and above all, to be "in control of all things," that borders on obsessive. His letters practically scream "Notice me! Pay attention to me! Fear me!" along with both overt and implicit threats of violence if his demands are not met.
Furthermore, killers who write letters often attempt to justify their deeds in one manner or another; Berkowitz blamed the dog. the dog's owner, and claimed (like Zodiac) that he was collecting slaves for the afterlife. It seems very important to him, and others like him, that he not be misunderstood; he begins his letter to Captain Borrelli by saying how "deeply hurt" he is to be called a "wemon [sic] hater." He goes to complain that he feels "like an outsider," that he is "on a different wavelength then [sic] anyone else--programmed to kill." He also asserts that while he doesn't "want to kill anymore," he "must 'honour thy father.'" So while his letters do contain a certain amount of taunting, they are also sick and desperate pleas for attention, recognition, and understanding.
The same can be said for Zodiac's work. It's as if both had something to prove, to provide some justification for their acts and their own existences. I just don't see that in the "Dear Boss" letter. There are no attempts at justification (beyond the rather vague statement that he is "down on whores"), no threats, no recriminations. Yes, they are attention-seeking, and there is a certain degree of boasting, but not in the same "Please understand me, you fools," sort of way authentic letters are. The author seems to be putting on a show for the press and public. (Although I do have to disagree with you about the addressing of "Dear Boss" to the director of the CNA; this really isn't someone your average newspaper reader is going to be aware of. Would you think to write to the head of the AP? Would you know it had a head? Or would just address your letter to you local paper/news outlet? He's maximizing his press attention, and he knows it.)
Now, I realize that by now you're all probably crying foul, since I've stated my belief that of all the letters, "From Hell" is the only one likely to be authentic. "There's no boasting, no cries for attention, no lengthy explanations for his behavior," you protest. This is all true. However, I agree with John Douglas's analysis that the sort of killer he believes Jack to have been would have been far too mentally unbalanced to put together something as cohesive and coherent as the "Dear Boss" letter. Compare the structure of the letters. There is a certain "orderliness" to "DB" that "From Hell" lacks. The latter doesn't even seem to exhibit any clear purpose; the spelling, grammar, and punctuation are erratic, as if the writer's mind frequently strayed from the task at hand. It's not all that taunting; even the "Catch me when you can" bit looks more like an afterthought, and a half-hearted one at that. Why not "Catch me if you can?" It's almost as if he's saying, "Well, if you've got time for it, go ahead and catch me," as if the writer were singularly unaware of the intense manhunt the police were conducting for him. Of course, it's so brief that it's difficult to make any kind of definitive statments about it, but the overall tone seems matter-of-fact ("Here is what I really did, not what that guy in the paper says I did. Catch me whenever you have a chance, I'm around.") rather than boastful or scornful or even angry, as you might expect.
Anyway, this is just my interpretation. I might be completely off-base, reading into both letters what I want to see. I'm wrong a lot, so it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility.
(Message edited by Rapunzel676 on December 12, 2003) |
Caroline Anne Morris
Chief Inspector
Username: Caz
Post Number: 528
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 7:52 am: | |
Just a thought – don’t German speakers use the word ‘when’, as in ‘catch me when you can’, in the same way as English speakers would tend to use the word ‘if’?
Love,
Caz
|
Andrew Spallek
Inspector
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 288
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 10:56 am: | |
Caz,
The German word for "if" is indeed "wenn," which causes English speakers fits when hearing or reading German since the tendency is to hear "when" and not "if," a mistake I have made numerous times. I presume it would be the same confusion for a German speaker learning English. Good thought, Caz.
But I also think "Catch me when you can..." is a plausible English phrase and, to my ear anyway, sounds more Victorian than "Catch me if you can...." I wonder if that wasn't the original form of the expression.
Andy S.
|
Monty
Chief Inspector
Username: Monty
Post Number: 518
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 11:42 am: | |
This sign off is odd isnt it ?
To me its as if the writer is expecting to be caught...when rather than if.
Also that he is amongst them. Its just an odd way of putting it....but hey, I dont need to tell you that !
Fair point about the German link.
Monty
 |
Andrew Spallek
Inspector
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 289
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 2:50 pm: | |
When I think about the words "catch me if you can" I always remember the nursery rhyme about the Gingerbread Man that my mother used to read to me, with it's refrain "Run, run as fast as you can; you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!"
Well, it turns out there is another such rhyme about "Five Gingerbread Men" with the "Catch me if you can" line in it:
Five little gingerbread men lying on a tray,
One jumped up and ran away.
Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can
I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
Four little gingerbread men lying on a tray,
One jumped up and ran away.
Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can
I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
Three little gingerbread men lying on a tray,
One jumped up and ran away.
Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can
I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
Two little gingerbread men lying on a tray,
One jumped up and ran away.
Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can
I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
One little gingerbread man lying on a tray,
He jumped up and ran away.
Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can
I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
No more gingerbread men lying on a tray,
They all jumped up and ran away.
Oh, how I wish they had stayed with me to play.
Next time I'll eat them before they run away.
Now, I have no idea how old this is -- it might be recent, with the reference to a "tray" instead of a "pan." But it is interesting. Five gingerbread men get away and can't be caught: five canonical unsolved murders (although I know the letter was written before MJK). Gingerbread: ginger beer (other letter, I know).
A stretch, but interesting.
Andy S.
|
Christopher T George
Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 477
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 3:16 pm: | |
Hi, Andy:
Good "catch" about the possible link of the Lusk letter to the gingerbread men rhyme. I can tell you though that as a poet, the fact that the writer used tray instead of pan does not betoken for me that the rhyme is of modern origin, rather that "tray" provides a good rhyme for "away" and "play." 
All the best
Chris |
Erin Sigler
Detective Sergeant
Username: Rapunzel676
Post Number: 138
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 9:02 pm: | |
Caz, that's absolutely brilliant. I know zero German (beyond "Ich bin ein amerikanerin"), but I do know that English is derived, at least in part, from a Germanic language. I mention this because I've always had a bit of trouble with the author's ability to spell the difficult word "knife," which is a very strange way to spell a word, if you think about it, and who else but a native would know that "k" could be silent? This gets me to my point: Doesn't the silent "k" in English have its origins in Old German? So perhaps putting a "k" in front of an "n" wouldn't be all that of a stretch for a native German speaker.
If I'm totally off, I apologize; I wish I were fluent in more than one language. (My smattering of French really doesn't count!) My husband speaks and/or understands 3. I guess sometimes you just have to learn when you're young! |
Andrew Spallek
Inspector
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 290
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 11:53 pm: | |
Erin,
Yes and no. The "kn-" spelling is common in German, but the "k" is sounded. German is largely a phonetic language, unlike English and French.
I could indeed see a German speaker getting the "kn" part of "knife" spelled correctly, though he might pronounce it "kunife." I could also see a German speaker spell "nice", "nise" and dropping the silent "e" from the end of words. "Prasarved" or "prasaned" is a little more difficult and "Sor" is most inexplicible as is "one women."
And you a right about starting when you are young. I've studied four "foreign" languages, gaining some degeree of reading knowledge of each but mastering none of them. French is my best, but I'm very rusty.
Andy S.
(Message edited by Aspallek on December 15, 2003) |
Caroline Anne Morris
Chief Inspector
Username: Caz
Post Number: 532
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 4:46 am: | |
Hi All,
And of course, if the letter writer really did scoff part of the kidney, he may well have viewed his victims as little more than gingerbread dolls, to catch and to have his wicked way with – in other words, to be eaten.
We obviously need to speak to Mishter Fru T. Bunn rather urgently…
Love,
Caz
|
Robert Charles Linford
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Robert
Post Number: 1571
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 5:44 am: | |
Caz, it all fits : Baker's Row, Eddoughs, Miller's Court...vital clues that will lead us to the Yeast End Murderer.
Robert |
Alan Sharp
Inspector
Username: Ash
Post Number: 286
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 6:45 am: | |
I don't speak any German, but I do speak Dutch which is a Germanic language. "Vang me als u kunt" would literally tranlate to "Catch me if you can", but the als can also be used as "as" or "when" so you could translate it to "Catch me as you can" or "Catch me when you can". I'm sure the same would be true of some other Germanic languages. Also, interestingly, "while" would translate to "wijl" which would actually be pronounced almost exactly the same, and could explain the dropping of the e off the end. |
Robert Charles Linford
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Robert
Post Number: 1572
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 7:12 am: | |
The thing is, he has no problem writing "if you only wate a whil longer."
Robert |
Eric Smith
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 3:49 am: | |
I have to take issue with viewing clarity of handwriting as being a sign of education level. Doctors are very well educated and highly intelligent, yet many have terrible handwriting that is almost unreadable (like my dad's). I'm well educated, well traveled, and have a high IQ. However, my handwriting is horrible. Sometimes, I can even read what I wrote. We need to be careful not to read too much into things.
Eric |
Sarah Long
Inspector
Username: Sarah
Post Number: 299
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 10:53 am: | |
Guys,
To me "catch me when you can" always sounds like he is telling them to catch him when they can be bothered or maybe more like "catch me when you can, no hurry now".
Sarah |
Andrew Spallek
Inspector
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 294
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 10:56 am: | |
Caz,
I thought about the connection with eating as well, but the referent is wrong. If the "gingerbread man" is the perpetrator, he should be doing the eating and not being eaten.
Alan,
Als functions much the same in German, apparently. My German is admittedly poor so I used an online translator to translate both "Catch me if you can" and "Catch me when you can." Both came out as "Fangen Sie mich, wenn Sie können"
Robert,
The thing is, he has no problem writing "if you only wate a whil longer."
Fair point. Yet, it might be only a momentary slip into thinking "wenn" instead of "if." This sentence may have been an afterthought written later.
Caz, it all fits : Baker's Row, Eddoughs, Miller's Court...vital clues that will lead us to the Yeast End Murderer.
Eric,
Yes, what you say is true. Many an educated man has sloppy handwriting, myself included. But there is a certain quality about this handwriting that looks more like someone who doesn't quite know how to write rather than someone who is writing quickly and sloppily. For example, I can distinguish between a doctor's handwriting and that of a 6-year old child. Whether this is an uneducated person or someone portraying an uneducated person is open to question.
Andy S.
|
Caroline Anne Morris
Chief Inspector
Username: Caz
Post Number: 537
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 11:49 am: | |
A small point, but could the conditional ‘I may…’ explain why the writer used ‘if’, and not ‘when’, as in ‘I may send you the bloody knif…if you only wate a whil longer’?
‘When’ would sound far less natural to me in this context than it does in ‘catch me when you can’, where it seems to imply ‘whenever’ or ‘if ever’ you get the chance.
If he had written ‘I will send you…’ he could then have continued ‘…when you have wated a whil longer’.
See what I mean?
Anyone for a doughnut? Or how about a very jammy dodger?
Love,
Caz
|
Sarah Long
Inspector
Username: Sarah
Post Number: 303
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 12:06 pm: | |
Caz,
Maybe this is just me, but huh? 
I need a lie down, my brain hurts after reading that.
Sarah |
Andrew Spallek
Inspector
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 296
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 12:29 pm: | |
"I may send you the bloody knife when you wait a while longer" really doesn't make sense in English. "When" implies a definite sequence of events, i.e. that the "waiting" has been done and is therefore in the past. It would have to read, "I may send you the bloody knife after you have waited a while longer." This, of course, assumes the writer knows correct English grammar, which may not be the case.
The question is, what does "Catch me when you can" mean? Is it intended to mean the same thing as "Catch me if you can" or does it mean something different?
You probably won't find "Catch me if you can" in a book of quotes. I suspect the origin is generic, probably a childish play-taunt as in "Tag! You're 'It!' Catch me if you can!" But I can't imagine a child saying "You're 'It!' Catch me when you can!" Unless the replacement of "if" with "when" is merely an error, I would have to conclude it is probably meaningful.
Now, I preface this with the caveat that the author of this letter may certainly not have good grammar skills and so the following analysis may be meaningless.
Grammatically, "Catch me when you can" and "Catch me if you can" mean two different things. "Catch me if you can" is conditional, meaning "You can catch me if you have the ability and/or opportunity, otherwise you can't catch me." "Catch me when you can" means "You have a definite opportunity to catch me and I invite/dare you to do so." [Excursus: there is also the indefinite possibility, but this would be expressed "Catch me whenever you can" meaning "If ever you have the opportunity, but you may or may not, catch me." I lived in the Ozarks for 9 years and it used to drive me crazy that people would say "whenever" when they meant "when." Ex: "It was late whenever I got home last night." Just say "when!" You know when you got home last night. It is not indefinite.]
If pressed grammatically, "Catch me when you can" means that it is definite that you will have the opportunity and ability to catch me. Since this statement is addressed to Mr. Lusk, this may mean that the ostensible author is someone known to Lusk or someone that he encounters frequently or someone "right under the noses" of his vigilance committee.
Andy S. [a linguist, of sorts]  |
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