Dallas County Clerk Gary Fitzsimmons has a twisted sense of humor, one which has now earned some criticism over his apparent lack of sensitivity. On Wednesday, Fitzsimmons, a Democrat, posted a photoshopped image of himself on his personal Facebook page, which placed his head in a propoganda picture of infamous dictator Joseph Stalin.
The image Fitzsimmons used was a World War II era propoganda poster featuring Stalin being adored by children with the words "This is the peace." Fitzsimmons photoshopped his face over Stalin's, added his name to the top, and made it appear as if the poster was hanging on the George Allen Federal Court Building in Dallas.
Dallas County Republican Party chairman Wade Emmert took exception to the image, criticizing Fitzsimmons by stating "I assume he intends it as a joke, but the genocide committed by Stalin and his pact with Hitler is not funny." Stalin was responsible for exiling millions to worker camps, and killed many of his detractors. He was an ally of Adolf Hitler before Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
In response to the furor over the image, Fitzsimmons told The Dallas Morning News it was a "tongue-in-cheek" joke, and was meant to poke fun at a Dallas County memo that he appoint a public relations person. Fitzsimmons joked the person would be his "minister of propoganda." On Thursday, Fitzsimmons repalced the image, which was his profile picture, with an image of Gandhi.
The slideshow included here features the image Fitzsimmons posted on his Facebook page, the original undoctored image of Stalin, and the image of Gandhi Fitzsimmons posted after removing the Stalin image. Pictures of Fitzsimmons with President Obama and a personal picture are also included.
Victor Medina writes for Yahoo News and his political blog WhenLiberalsAttack.com. His other writing credits include The Dallas Morning News and SportsIllustrated.com. He has served as a Dallas County election judge and on the Board of Directors of The Sixth Floor Museum. You can follow him on his blog, VictorMedina.com or on Twitter at @mrvictormedina. He can be reached by email at vic@victormedina.com. Click here to receive a weekly email update from WhenLiberalsAttack.com. To be notified of future stories by Victor Medina, click the SIGN UP or SUBSCRIBE button at the top of this page.
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