Agree or disagree: Iconic WW2-era photo should be removed

[PCIntern]

11. You know...

Last edited Thu Mar 7, 2024, 08:30 AM - Edit history (1)

this merits a response, and I usually don't take up these matters because they are generally "no-win".

The day after virtually my entire dental school class of 165 took the incredibly stressful two-day clinical examination to become licensed practitioners in the Northeast, the Northeast Regional Board Examination (NERB), at 9 A.M., the associate dean walked out of his office with a list of Social Security numbers of the students who did NOT pass, about fifteen if I remember correctly, and posted it on the bulletin board for the Senior Class. Probably 140 people were crammed into a moderately wide hallway, barely able to move, and as each of us managed to get to the Board, you could see the absolute relief and joy of the vast number of now-former students, never ever having to take a test again for the rest of our lives, having taken hundreds of them during our academic careers beginning in First Grade.

As I witnessed the fact that my number was NOT listed, checking it three times to make sure, I found my knees buckling, and a rush like no other I have experienced before or since. A fellow classmate of mine, a young lady with whom I do not believe I exchanged twenty words since First Year, simultaneously reacted to her non-listing, and we turned to each other, gave each other an enormous hug and a kiss, and I swear, and I am not making this up for sensationalism, she ground her nether region into mine for about ten seconds. We released each other's grasp, held each other's hands for a few seconds, and went our separate ways. I never saw her again, I believe she's in the Midwest somewhere.

It was an absolutely innocent moment of complete and utter joy and was expressed, at least by her, in the most intense way that she could with the person who happened to be standing right next to her. I'll never forget it and believe me, it was not an assault - it was a manifestation of extreme exuberance beyond comprehension.

This photo represents that much better than my paragraphs above, and all I was doing was finishing schooling and starting a career. These two people were involved in defeating the worst scourge in the history of the planet. They represent unbridled human joy. Let's just stop with the pontificating for a moment and understand the context of this great art.