'Racist' cartoon draws second protest

By Marlene Naanes

Enraged about an editorial cartoon they deemed racist, about 300 protesters picketed The New York Post’s midtown offices Thursday, shouting “Don't buy the Post. Shut down the Post.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton and elected officials called for a boycott of the newspaper and promised more protests, including one with director Spike Lee Friday afternoon.

The object of their ire is a cartoon by Sean Delonas published Wednesday depicting two police officers who just shot dead a chimpanzee saying “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” A chimp was killed in Connecticut after attacking a woman Monday, and President Barack Obama signed off on the economic stimulus bill Tuesday, leading some to infer that the chimp represented the president.

“I guess they thought we really were chimpanzees,” Sharpton said. “They will find out that we're lions, and we're getting ready to roar.”

Elected officials and protesters asked businesses to pull their ads and promised an organized effort to picket newsstands and dissuade people from buying the Post. Sharpton also said he would call for a hearing on Post owner Rupert Murdoch’s FCC waiver, which allows him to own the newspaper and television stations in the same market.“Apparently the New York Post feels that they don't have to talk to people, that what we get is what we deserve, and that we are helpless and mindless. ... What they could have met with dialog they have chosen to meet with confrontation,” Sharpton said.

The newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Col Allan, said Wednesday that the cartoon was a parody on the chimp shooting and a criticism of Washington’s efforts to revive the economy. Allan also called Sharpton, who was also the subject of another controversial Delonas cartoon, a publicity opportunist.

The paper did not offer further comment Thursday.

Tony Murphy, 43, a syndicated cartoonist attended Thursday’s protest, carrying a sign reading “Cartoonists Against Racism.” Murphy, who lives in Park Slope, said he and other cartoonists felt the drawing was racist and they planned to hold their own protest.

“I'm always shocked when I see such an abuse of a form that should be used for truth and justice,” he said.

While many passersby stopped to offer support, others criticized Sharpton and the reaction stemming from the cartoon.

“I thought it would get the animal rights people out,” said Brian McCaffrey, 55, Manhattan. “It required the readers to think too much, which is asking too much in America right now. The Post overestimated their audience.”

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