Today, there were violent protests throughout the City of London about the depiction of HSBC's profit margin in a cartoon in a Danish newspaper. The protesters asked for the head of HSBC and burned a number of cheque books. Despite three deaths, the protests passed without incident.
"We really feel that it is offensive to show our profit in this manner," said an HSBC spokesman. "Amongst our own people we are not allowed to show it at all. I especially object to the cartoon which shows the profit as a ticking bomb. That is just downright racist against HSBC employees."
The cartoonist Jans Eghard, who refuses to be named, made the following statement. "All I was doing is to draw attention to the obscene profits which the company is making. The bomb represents an explosion of money, like a masturbating bank monkey. It's art, I wouldn't expect these office peasants to understand."
