I don’t know anything about Phil Boerner or his recollections that he relayed to the newspapers.
If you read through this thread you will see others who commented on the number of fingers, it’s been a big topic of conversation before on other threads.
I told you I wasn’t an expert but am going by what I see, what others have said and leave it to each to make their own judgement.
I don’t know how you have missed seeing all the others who have questioned it over time and I have no motive other than seeing what I see and being truthful about what I see.
The "original" version appeatred in the NYTs with Siddiqi erased (and very clumsily) and the picture cropped on the right side to make it appear that the guy who owned the apartment was standing next to the couch.
Also, there is no reason to believe that the boys on the couch are holding hands...that's just not there.
Now, do I believe the pic is genuine? Yes. Do I believe that it is a picture of two queers in NYC circa 1981? Hell yes.
I didn’t miss the discussions and I joined in but I can honestly say that I could never say with certainly that I saw 10 fingers. It sure looks odd, but I can’t clearly see the 10 fingers, the 2 fingers or the arm. I don’t know how to explain it. But you can clearly see in the photo where they cropped the Paki out, that they shopped it to remove his foot because the rug and couch are blurry. They didn’t do a very good job.
I don’t know anything about Phil Boerner or his recollections that he relayed to the newspapers.
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That’s a good place to start. They are all still friends, they donated to his campaign fund. Yet you think they provided a picture that showed him holding hands? Come on!