Life — July 12, 1917 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Drawing the Color Line" This satirical story uses animal characters to debate racial politics. A Blue Mouse argues he's inherently sincere and therefore safe from a Red Cat—because the cat's code forbids eating sincere mice. The Red Cat counters that only *blue* mice receive this protection; other colored mice face no such safeguard. The allegory critiques racial hierarchies and selective moral protections. The story suggests society grants certain groups (represented by "blue") special status or safety, while denying it to others based on arbitrary distinctions. The Red Cat's admission of prejudice against non-blue mice illustrates how discrimination operates through coded justifications. The caption below the illustration references English chops and German fried potatoes—likely a WWI-era jab at European powers.