Chris and I each had our say about the use of boycotts by Christians to have television shows taken off the air.

“The Book of Daniel” was finally cancelled by NBC — whether the reason was because of evangelical boycotts or simply because people didn’t want to see the show, no one can say for sure.

But evangelicals aren’t the only ones who try to remove programming from the airwaves just because they disagree with it. The Rev. Al Sharpton is up in arms because of an episode of “The Boondocks,” an adaptation of the provocative Aaron McGruder comic strip. The series airs as part of Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” late-night programming block.

The episode in question (which, unlike “The Book of Daniel,” I actually saw) posits an alternate universe in which Dr. Martin Luther King was put into a coma rather than killed. He awakens in 2000, and after the initial excitement he is ostracized for his pacifist views in the wake of 9/11. He finally delivers a blistering rebuke to a black culture that seems more interested in hip-hop posturing than serious discussion of civil rights.

Rev. Sharpton’s stated reason for objecting to this episode is that he does not like the fact that Dr. King uses the “n” word in the climactic monologue. Sharpton calls this a desecration of King’s memory. I am no fan of the occasional double standard over use of the truly-offensive “n” word, and I’m sure there’s room for debate about its use in this context. But the episode as a whole was far from a desecration — it was a funny and incisive bit of satire which revered Dr. King’s ideals but treated him as a human being rather than an icon.

Anyway, Rev. Sharpton has every right to criticize the episode if he disagrees with it. But he’s going farther than that. He is insisting that Cartoon Network pull the episode and not air it again. Just like the “Book of Daniel” protesters, he is trying to impose his own judgements about what is suitable viewing on people who don’t agree with him. This isn’t an issue of protecting children — “The Boondocks” airs long after bedtime, and even so the entire “Adult Swim” lineup carries clear parental warnings. This is about trying to stifle political speech that Rev. Sharpton doesn’t agree with.

Just as in the case of some of the “Book of Daniel” demagogues, I think this may have more to do with generating publicity and marshalling support than with true idealistic outrage.