That's a bit harsh to say, don't you think? People try to cope with this new situation and it's only natural that different people have different ideas and views. He just expressed his.

As I understood it, he maybe meant to exclude those higher ranks from the necessity of getting Merits in the first place while at the same time grant them the function of a merit source. You can't deny that higher ranks often get a higher amount of merit compared to lower ranks - sometimes without even having made a 'quality post'. That's no problem per se - at least for me - but people observe this and voice their concern. This will fade in time but for now, it's something that will be discussed in the forum and people will try to come up with a 'better' way - at least in their eyes.