At bottom, David Gilmour conflates personal interest with public policy and tries to make the case that the arena in which he practices the former should be indistinguishable from the latter. The private and public in his case become one. (More about that later!)
OK – all of us have private interests that are ultimately legitimate for any of us to indulge if they don’t hurt others: football, beer, ballet, origami, the Ballet Russe, poutine and/or crepe suzette.
No matter.
It’s on your own time with your own friends… on your own nickel. We are bored with your choices but thank God you did not invite us!
Yet once I say in a public forum that I accept pay from a public institution with public funding to indulge my private muse because the institution hired me before they realized I was tone deaf excuses neither the actor nor the theatre.
Gilmour makes the dubious case that his private proclivities should be supported (with pay) on the public stage and his forced conflation of the two in the public sphere have now become a classic example of the bony-fingered admonition: ” Be careful what you wish for… you just may get it!”
That is, now that all and sundry are levelling personal and very public attacks on Gilmour, he is almost forced to defend (hands tied behind back) both their public space and their right to exquisite personal attacks in return. He opened the space and the critics entered stage left and right.
So now that he allowed it, may we please hear from those who exclude tone deaf white male middle-aged pseudo-academicians with unkempt hair and out-of-date glasses from their reading lists?
Please count Mr. Gilmour as the first on your list of defenders.
Noblesse Oblige!