Thursday, we went to the Metropolitan Police Museum. There,
we got to see many things that are important in the history of the Metropolitan
Police. Some of the things we got to see were the changes in woman police
uniforms over the years since they have been able to become police officers. It
was interesting to see that the many women were not even given a wooden truncheon
to protect themselves. If they were given one, they were shorter than the ones
that men received. This is quite common amongst the duties of women because
they have always been seen as not being equals.
The other cool thing we got to see were copies of the notes
from the Jack the Ripper case that happened in London. We were able to see all
the copies of the police notes and some pictures of the girls that had their
throats slit by the proposed “Jack the Ripper”. We learned that there were
rumors that “Jack the Ripper” may have been a woman so was also called “Jill
the Ripper”. To me this was really interesting especially since woman were not
equal to men in the workplace. So, one
would think that women would not be able to pull off a crime such as those of
Jack the Ripper.
We got to see many other things including a bomb that was
put on the desk of the police commissioner and the metal casing of the bomb was
still intact. Then we also got to see tigers claws that were taken off of a lion
that took Commissioner Bradford's arm clean off. He lost his left arm in a tiger attack whilst serving in the army in India in 1863, and thereafter he rode a horse holding the reins in his teeth. The police department kept the claws and has
them in a glass case. Another interesting thing we got to see were the medals
that many police officers have received.
After leaving the museum, we went to the Natural History
Museum. I have to say that London really gives a new definition to a museum. It
was huge! The museum had all sorts of animals all the way from dinosaurs to
many extinct sloths. A floor of the museum was also all about minerals and had
many that one could look at. There was even an escalator that went upstairs and
took you through what appeared to be the middle of the earth where the hot lava
is made. It was quite cool!
It was a fantastic day, but boy was it cold and wet. It
rained the whole day off and on. No wonder they have such green vegetation
here, the weather fluctuates and is unpredictable just like back home. Good
thing I am used to that!
I had heard the theory once that "Jack the ripper" was female, but I imagine they didn't want to ruin the history that they had when they thought it was a male, chauvinism prolly is the biggest reason. Even as far back as colonial time, ie: the scarlet letter for an adultress, when men weren't punished at all for that, among other things, there was always a double standard. IDK if there still is or not!? Do you sense it?
ReplyDeleteMost definitely! There will always be a double standard with everything. The biggest today is still the issue of females being sexually active is a horrible thing but it's perfectly accepted if men are sexually active. I don't think that this standard will ever change.
ReplyDeleteFUN!! Sounds like you got to see ALOT!! =) I agree with the Double Standard!! It will ALWAYS be that way!!
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