Bernie Madoff’s second son is dead

Edgar Brenninkmeyer says:

Hasbeen, I suggest you begin the process of creatively imagining under which nom de plume you would like to post in the future. The one you currently use is at least unflattering, and, if I may say so, makes me wonder where you have been at all when the Madoff scheme exploded, and what its consequences were and are.. More to the point: Madoff’s deception did – and does – have a lot to do with arts organizations. To name but one consequence: it wiped out the savings and financial resources of countless people who, until disaster struck, had been loyal sponsors and supporters of the arts (whether with small or large amounts of dollars is irrelevant). Many of these supporters are since forced to find work, any work, to pay their bills. No retirement for them, and likely no cultural events to attend, let alone to support, either. Mr. Madoff is now in jail, sentenced to 150 years. His family has fallen apart, and he lives to learn of the death of not one, but now two of his sons. One might speak of a retribution that can aptly be called biblical. Sadly, the Madoff saga also reveals, to this day, the prevailing “culture” of utterly immoral, kleptocratic greed at the expense of human dignity and decency, and human society as a whole. If you can, watch, and spread, the video of Peter Sellars giving a rousing speech with eloquent words about why we need music, arts, and culture, given in Stockholm on August 27 on the occasion of receiving the Polar Prize. You can find it in this blog. I, for one, am firmly convinced that our world would be a more just and – maybe even just a bit more – peaceful place if each day of trade on Wall Street were to begin with one hour of music making. This does not happen. Instead, we hear the bell each afternoon, rung by a Special Guest, followed by the hollow sound of self-congratulary applause. If Madoff’s fate has any meaning, it is this one: We continue to cherish such “culture” at our peril.