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Moving on at the RPO?
It appears that the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra will continue, at least for now, in a way that is sufficiently agreeable for most of the people associated with its operation, most of its musicians, and the majority of people who buy tickets and attend performances.
So it goes, as Kurt Vonnegut might have said about the events experienced here, yet it is astonishing that many seem passively to accept the loss of Arild Remmereit on the podium.
As for those who have protested and criticized the actions taken by the RPO board: so few apparently want to support this small community. People, by and large, are moving on, as they do after the sound and fury of almost any controversy, whether the subject is the treatment of a gifted artist, gun violence, social justice, or... what a long list it is.
Henrik Ibsen observed (in "An Enemy of the People") that "a minority may be right; a majority is always wrong."
MARTIN FASS, ROCHESTER
Entitlements?
A recent letter regarding entitlements notes the advantage of single-payer or "Medicare for all," in contrast to "non-profit private insurance" with its considerably higher administrative costs ("These Aren't 'Entitlements,'" Feedback).
Unfortunately, the writers confuse the neutral use of the word "entitlement" with a more biased usage when they take umbrage at their Medicare and Social Security being correctly referenced as such.
The truth of the matter is that their Social Security benefits probably exceeded within five years what they paid in. The average Medicare benefit by the end of one's lifespan is even more lopsided.
Not to mention Medicaid, which provides even further benefits to upper and middle-class elderly as nursing homes routinely charge in excess of $100,000 a year.
Indeed there is a class war, as noted by David Cay Johnston, which disproportionately benefits corporate interests and the richest among us. To suggest, however, that there is another class war against the elderly simply flies in the face of reality as younger generations struggle to maintain "greedy geezers" like myself who had the simple good fortune of having been born before 1945.
IVAN LENNON, ROCHESTER