The Genteel Antisemitism of JW Bengough
Grip Magazine and “the Other”: The Genteel Antisemitism of J. W. Bengough ALAN MENDELSON* J. W. Bengough of Toronto began an “Independent Political and Satirical Journal” called Grip in 1873. A grab-bag of commentary, cartoons, and satire, Grip was vir- tually required reading for the Canadian elite, including politicians, scholars, business leaders, and journalists. Today Bengough is regarded largely as a reformer. Yet his commitment to progressive causes did not deter him from publishing antise- mitic, anti-Catholic, and other racist views. An analysis of Bengough’s antisemitic words and images demonstrates how, through Grip, antisemitism gained respectabil- ity in late-nineteenth-century Canada. J. W. Bengough de Toronto a lance´ une « revue politique inde´pendante et satirique » intitule´e Grip en 1873. Pot-pourri d’opinions, de bandes dessine´es et de satire, Grip e´tait de lecture pratiquement incontournable pour l’e´lite canadienne, politiciens, lettre´s, chefs d’entreprise et journalistes compris. Aujourd’hui, Bengough est ge´ne´- ralement conside´re´ comme un re´formateur. Pourtant, son engagement envers les causes progressistes ne l’a pas dissuade´ de publier des opinions antise´mites, anti- catholiques et a` d’autres penchants racistes. L’analyse des e´crits et des images de Bengough de´montre comment, par l’entremise de Grip, l’antise´mitisme a gagne´ en respectabilite´ au Canada a` la fin du XIXe sie`cle. MODERNIST HEIRS of the radical Enlightenment are apt to assume that progressive or reformist political movements are, by definition, pro- gressive on all fronts, simultaneously challenging the inequalities of class, race, and gender.
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