D.C. cartoon protest

Yesterday D.C. witnessed a protest over the Danish cartoons of Mohammed. 40 people showed up, along with 20 counter-protestors. The whole thing appears to have been a joke:

Leading the demonstration was D.C. lawyer Malik Zulu Shabazz, head of the New Black Panther Party. He and other speakers criticized the cartoons but went on to address a long list of targets: the Bush administration, Western civilization, slavery, Zionists and Dick Cheney's hunting skills. Even breakfast pastry was not spared."

I'm not going to eat any more Danish in my life -- no strawberry Danish, no cheese Danish," Shabazz intoned.

...Some who arrived at the event said it turned out to be more representative of the New Black Panther Party than of Muslims in the area.

"Much of what's been said represents them, not us," said a local Muslim activist, Mauri Saalakhan. He criticized the cartoons but also denounced the violence that has erupted in many protests around the world.

It's quite striking to me how Muslims in the U.S. haven't seemed to make a big deal over the cartoons. My guess is that having a political system that allows you to vent your grievances peacefully and an economic system that allows you to devote your energies to getting rich explains much of this.

Update: While that cartoon protest may have been a joke, this certainly isn't funny.