Life, 1923-03-15 · page 14 of 36
Life — March 15, 1923 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The cartoon depicts a mother seated while a young boy stands before her. The mother threatens to punish the boy for fighting, referencing that "Willie said you were ten years older." The boy responds that he was actually "twenty years older," implying his opponent was a much larger, older child—making his fighting defensible. The satire targets **Irish-American cultural attitudes** toward fighting and masculine honor. The boy's logic—that fighting someone significantly larger makes the act more justifiable rather than less—reflects stereotypical perceptions of Irish culture valuing scrappy toughness and honor over practical judgment. The accompanying article discusses Irish cultural organizations critiquing negative male stereotypes in literature and theater, suggesting this cartoon ironically perpetuates those very stereotypes the organizations protested against.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Didn't I tell you that I would punish you if I found you fighting? What were you arguing * about?” “Willie said you were ten years older’n his mother.” “Ten years! The idea!” “Don’t cha worry, Ma! I learned him to say ya were twenty years older.” Scribes Scored by Irish Aged Saint Leads Revolt Against Race’s Ridiculers LARNEY CASTLE, March 17—The annual conven- tion of the Shamrock Music and Literary Club was held to-day on the old Donnybrook Fair grounds, by Kil- larney’s lakes and dells. As these annual meetings are only held every three years, a great number of Erin’s heroes and heroines were on hand, and some very im- portant business was transacted. St. Patrick was in the chair; among the delegates were Rory O’Moore, Father O'Flynn, Mr. Dooley, Mr. Hennessey, the Shan Van Vocht, Private Mulvaney of H. M. Indian Army (he was a corporal once, but was reduced afterwards), Charles O'Malley, the Irish Washerwoman, “Mother” Machree, and several others who gave their names simply as Pat, Mike, Acushla, Mavourneen, Bridget, etc. After an overture on the harp that once through Tara's halls, played by Mrs. ‘Tara herself, a luncheon of O’Brien potatoes was served. A quartet of banshees then dreed their weird, following which the chairman opened the meeting. It was voted to dispense with the reading of the minutes of tHe previ- ous meeting. “?Twill take an hour to read the minutes, your honor,” said Pat with true Irish wit. On motion made and seconded, the following resolu- tion was unanimously passed sixty-three to eleven, only four voting against it: “WHEREAS, all men are created equal, except members of the Ku Klux Klan, we therefore do hereby declare ourselves independent of all actors, writers, and artists, for the following reasons: “They have repeatedly depicted our male members as having long upper lips, chin whiskers and pug noses; “They have caused our women-folk to appear con- stantly in aprons, and with shawls in place of hats; “They have interspersed quotations of our common speech with such expressions as ‘be jabbers,’ ‘wurra wurra,’ and ‘whist ye’; “And be it further resolved that that is not all; but we have forgotten the rest, even if there is any more; “And if said actors, writers, and artists don’t stop the above’ nefarious practices, whist ye, we'll have no more to do with them at all, at all, be jabbers. Amen.” After the passage of this important measure, St. Pat- rick led a snake dance in celebration, and the afternoon closed with an Irish bull fight. When asked for a statement, “Ireland shall be free,” said the Shan Van Vocht. “I should wurra.” A.C. M. A. comicbooks.com