Western society has gone insane.

Yes, I know... This isn't exactly news, but it is important to chronicle its decline so that the generations who live after the Dark Ages to come know why and how civilization collapsed.

EXCLUSIVE:

The Department Of Veterans Affairs just BANNED the V-J Day kiss photo from all department facilities.

"To promote a culture of inclusivity and awareness… your cooperation is vital." pic.twitter.com/MZfNHbpV76

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 5, 2024

Few photographs are more deeply embedded in our culture than Alfred Eisenstaedt's shot in Times Square on V-J Day. Along with the famous photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima, it captured a key moment in American and world history and distilled it down to its essence. 

Taken just after the announcement of the Japanese surrender, it depicts a sailor kissing a dental assistant spontaneously in celebration. The two didn't know each other, and there was no romantic connection. Eisenstaedt recounted the circumstances:

In Times Square on V.J. Day I saw a sailor running along the street grabbing any and every girl in sight. Whether she was a grandmother, stout, thin, old, didn't make a difference. I was running ahead of him with my Leica looking back over my shoulder but none of the pictures that were possible pleased me. Then suddenly, in a flash, I saw something white being grabbed. I turned around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse. If she had been dressed in a dark dress I would never have taken the picture. If the sailor had worn a white uniform, the same. I took exactly four pictures. It was done within a few seconds. Only one is right, on account of the balance. In the others the emphasis is wrong — the sailor on the left side is either too small or too tall. People tell me that when I am in heaven they will remember this picture.^[7]

"When I am in heaven they will remember this picture" sounds about right. The photo is so famous that an 8-meter statue of the scene is memorialized at the Caen Memorial in Normandy, as depicted in the photo accompanying this article (the original photo is still under copyright so I couldn't use it).

The Department of Veterans Affairs is removing the photo from all its facilities and trying to wipe the moment from history. 

As you can see, the argument is that the photograph may cause trauma, making V.A. facilities unsafe for some people. 

You read that right. Veterans of the US armed forces are incapable of surviving the viewing of a photograph that is one of the most recognized in the world, memorialized in statues, included in history books, and widely considered one of the most important photographs ever taken. Having taken a history of photography course, I can tell you that Eisenstaedt's photographs are among the most studied in the world, and this particular photograph is his most famous. 

There is an alternate version taken by US Navy photojournalist Victor Jorgenson who caught the scene as well. Taken from a different angle it is far less dramatic.

Activists have long attacked the photograph as depicting a sexual assault, but that is contradicted by the fact that the sailor was kissing every woman in sight, and he was accompanied by his girlfriend who eventually married him. She, too was caught up in the joy of the moment. 

The depiction was of joy, not assault. That is exactly why the photograph's imagery has endured. The war that had stolen the lives of tens of millions was over. Is the VA going to wipe WWII out of history as well? 

One would assume that World War II would perhaps be more traumatic for the delicate flowers who typically visit Veterans Affairs facilities. 

This isn't just absurd; it is offensive to generations of Americans who grew up with this as one of the defining images of history. 

The V.A. should be ashamed. 

UPDATE: After a controversy erupted the VA reversed its decision. My analysis stands. These people are woke monsters and we need to beat them silly (rhetorically) whenever they venture into this territory.

Let me be clear: This image is not banned from VA facilities - and we will keep it in VA facilities. pic.twitter.com/dYSikLxHAJ

— Secretary Denis McDonough (@SecVetAffairs) March 5, 2024

AP has anonymous sources claiming the secretary didn't know.

"Two people familiar with the memo confirmed that it was authentic and said McDonough had never approved it and rescinded it once informed that it had been sent out."https://t.co/5ICDwCS2DL

— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) March 5, 2024