AIDS Ribbons II
In response to David Michaels, Joan Messinger and Drew Messinger-Michaels, AIDS Ribbon Project (Saturday Letters, Jan. 23):
On the first evening of performances of John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 1, a fellow orchestra musician asked me my opinion of his wearing a red ribbon onstage that evening. My response:
“For many of us who have been screaming for attention for 12 years, the gesture is far too little and tragically late! To me, the ribbon has become a reminder of government recalcitrance and public apathy, from the beginnings of the plague to Magic Johnson’s announcement (when the virus became “respectable”). The ribbon’s symbolism is now almost overshadowed by its recognition as a logo for the entertainment industry’s annual rites of self-congratulation.
“The fact that we are playing the Corigliano symphony is a sufficiently eloquent gesture . . . albeit much too little and entirely too late.”
ROY TANABE, Violinist
Assistant Personnel Manager
L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra
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