The potograph in the lower right corner is emblematic of the era. Ali is a young Muslim man who has had little contact with the Western Judeo/Christian culture but has come to Boston to be educated in the Western Way. So what does David Demaine do to help Ali? He takes Ali to Filene's so that Ali can sit on Santa Claus's knee and tell Santa what he wants for Christmas.
Certainly David and all of us were quite aware that Ali observed very different religious beliefs. And none of us would have even thought of any prosletizing. What it was about, purely and simply, was humor. David and Ali thought it would be a fun thing to do, and so they did it.
The thing that I wonder when I see this picture is could the same thing happen today? It probably could - I hope it could - but maybe with much less innocence...
The potograph in the lower right corner is emblematic of the era. Ali is a young Muslim man who has had little contact with the Western Judeo/Christian culture but has come to Boston to be educated in the Western Way. So what does David Demaine do to help Ali? He takes Ali to Filene's so that Ali can sit on Santa Claus's knee and tell Santa what he wants for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteCertainly David and all of us were quite aware that Ali observed very different religious beliefs. And none of us would have even thought of any prosletizing. What it was about, purely and simply, was humor. David and Ali thought it would be a fun thing to do, and so they did it.
The thing that I wonder when I see this picture is could the same thing happen today? It probably could - I hope it could - but maybe with much less innocence...