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Clodfobble · 12-04-2007, 02:10 PM

Personally? I'd take the money from both.

I've never heard of Altria, and I don't know anyone who would associate it with Phillip-Morris. They have a history of supporting the arts; it's not like some composer just died of lung cancer and they're trying to buy their way out of the bad PR. Furthermore, 'making a statement' would be useless in this case; Altria won't be hurt by someone not taking their money, so it wouldn't even be effective as a boycott issue.

And presumably, one could quickly and quietly preview the nephew's existing music to make sure it is above an 8th-grade level before agreeing to take Mrs. Wagner's money. Even if it's only mediocre, you can get away with a lot if you call it "avant-garde." I doubt every piece is liked by every patron as it is. Just ask the audience if they'd prefer to sit through one crappy performance during the year, or never get to attend another performance again.

And if you take both, and invest the extra $6 million for a whole year before budget time comes up again, then maybe you'll have fewer agonizing decisions to have to make in the future.

But then again, I've always had a pretty cut-and-dried utilitarian approach to ethics. Moral quandaries have never seemed to be as gut-wrenching to me as others say they are.

12-04-2007, 02:10 PM	#4
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Personally? I'd take the money from both. I've never heard of Altria, and I don't know anyone who would associate it with Phillip-Morris. They have a history of supporting the arts; it's not like some composer just died of lung cancer and they're trying to buy their way out of the bad PR. Furthermore, 'making a statement' would be useless in this case; Altria won't be hurt by someone not taking their money, so it wouldn't even be effective as a boycott issue. And presumably, one could quickly and quietly preview the nephew's existing music to make sure it is above an 8th-grade level before agreeing to take Mrs. Wagner's money. Even if it's only mediocre, you can get away with a lot if you call it "avant-garde." I doubt every piece is liked by every patron as it is. Just ask the audience if they'd prefer to sit through one crappy performance during the year, or never get to attend another performance again. And if you take both, and invest the extra $6 million for a whole year before budget time comes up again, then maybe you'll have fewer agonizing decisions to have to make in the future. But then again, I've always had a pretty cut-and-dried utilitarian approach to ethics. Moral quandaries have never seemed to be as gut-wrenching to me as others say they are.