Do we ignore sexual assault victims in favor of better tales? In the article “The Kissing Sailor, or ‘The Selective Blindness of Rape Culture’,” blogger “Leopard” calls out various media outlets for ignoring the sexual assault that occurred in Alfred Eisenstaedt’s famous photograph V-J Day in Times Square.

The iconic WWII photo has long embodied the victorious celebration of the moment - but recently, the woman in the photo has explained that the sailor was actually a drunk stranger who grabbed her and kissed her.

“It wasn’t my choice to be kissed,” says Greta Zimmer Friedman, who is now 89 years old. She says of sailor George Mendonsa (now also 89): “The guy just came over and grabbed!”

In another interview, she said, “I did not see him approaching, and before I knew it, I was in this vice grip.”

I understand why critics of Leopard want to dismiss her outrage; it’s much more comforting to believe that the iconic photo depicts a loving, celebratory moment than to admit that it’s a sexual assault.

But when you read Greta’s account of what happened - and check out another shot in the series, in which Greta has made a fist and pressed it against George’s face - you can longer see the photo as an innocent, happy encounter. Make no mistake: a man took used his strength to do what he pleased, with no regard for what the woman wanted. Why should we be defending - or worse, celebrating - that behavior?

Even though the photo is from another era, and though Greta has no interest in revenge or pressing charges, the discussion shouldn’t be dismissed as moot. In a world where Reddit posters are defended after explaining why they rape people, it’s clear that many men still believe they are entitled to take whatever they want from women. Worse, our culture keeps encouraging them to do so.

My question is this: what exactly are Leopard’s critics standing up for? Sexual assault? Silencing victims? No wonder 54% of rapes go unreported…victims are sadly correct in thinking that if they come forward, they will be blamed, shamed or ignored.

If we ignore the truth of the photo, we are ignoring the psychological seed of sexual assault. Does the world really need more apologists and enablers?