RoB,
I got so carried away with my tirade that I forgot to address your post. My apoligies.
You say,
“Where I differ from you is in declaring the fact that a Klal has to be treated differently than an individual. And – the way I see it – some poskim have eschewed that basic idea today”.
I agree with you 100% that very often a Klal has to be treated differently than an individual.
Our disagreement lies in whether or not we trust the Gedolai HaDor to make the decision when yes & when no.
This is the response to your entire post, I guess.