The Wasp — 1894 — page 101: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical piece depicts anti-Chinese violence in America. Act One shows a policeman murdering a Chinese person ("Policeman Moriarty—Another highbinder murder, I 'spose"), with the caption sarcastically wishing "Bad luck to them haythins" (Irish slur pronunciation of "heathens"). Act Two, labeled "Rats!", shows a chaotic scene with Chinese figures in what appears to be Chinatown, with violence and mayhem. The satire targets both police brutality against Chinese immigrants and anti-Chinese racism. The Irish policeman character suggests nativist violence was perpetrated by recent Irish immigrants against Chinese laborers. The sarcastic framing critiques how such murders were dismissed or normalized in mainstream discourse.