Sure, the orchestra can fire or not fire the guy, and they can also do so on the basis of whether they think this will fill seats. What really rubs me the wrong way here is the performative "you're with us or you're against us" demand for a written denouncement: AFAICT he has not said a peep either way about the Ukraine invasion, he is just being required to publicly renounce his past beliefs to keep his job.
For what it's worth, you're also doing some pretty selective reading of the link: he's Ossetian himself, claims he never actually signed the Crimea annexation statement, and the Pussy Riot/LGBT stuff is really an irrelevant tangent here.
Finally, no, McCarthyism was not (just) about government persecution, things like the MPAA blacklist on "Communist" actors and directors were private initiatives, and artists bore much of the brunt of that particular witchhunt.
The MPAA blacklist was a direct consequence of the House Unamerican Activities Committee investigations into Hollywood. It wouldn’t exist but for government intervention. The blacklist itself did not violate the first Amendment, but the actions of HUAC did.
Look, you’re hell bent on claiming mUh CaNcEl cUlTuRe for this poor conductor. Apparently he never supported any violence and doesn’t condone the current invasion either. Ok, let him just say that. Until then, I and other like minded individuals want nothing to do with with him. If you feel strongly about it, write to the various orchestras and tell them how you and your many freedom loving friends will fill the seats.
For what it's worth, you're also doing some pretty selective reading of the link: he's Ossetian himself, claims he never actually signed the Crimea annexation statement, and the Pussy Riot/LGBT stuff is really an irrelevant tangent here.
Finally, no, McCarthyism was not (just) about government persecution, things like the MPAA blacklist on "Communist" actors and directors were private initiatives, and artists bore much of the brunt of that particular witchhunt.