The New York Post is under fire, much like the chimpanzee depicted in a cartoon it published last week.

This cartoon showed cops shooting a chimpanzee and saying, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.”

While the cartoonist and editors at the publication denied any ties between the cartoon and President Obama, the racial implications of the cartoon are obvious.

The Post’s representatives have apologized for offending any readers, and said they meant no racial harm. However, many groups have taken a stand.

Many readers have started protesting the newspaper. The Rev. Al Sharpton has led many into protest.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is demanding the Federal Communications Commission step in and that the Post fire the cartoonist and the editor-in-chief, threatening to take the issue, as well as the protests, national.

While the cartoon is undeniably offensive and the Post hasn’t handled the situation in the most graceful manner, it isn’t the NAACP’s position to call for these firings.

The First Amendment gives publications the right to publish even offensive materials.

It also gives the American people the right to peacefully protest, which in turn could change the publication’s mind about what it prints.

However, it doesn’t give Sharpton the right to intimidate a publication for consistently running cartoons and stories he finds personally offensive.

The Post needs to rethink its tactics when it comes to offensive material.

The cartoonist and the editor may need to be reprimanded. But this punishment should be internal, and not come from Sharpton or the NAACP.