it gives evidence of the resistance to change
But the system has changed. It changed 28 years ago, starting with AMATS. The system now is nothing like the old FS/ATC OCTA/CTA divide.
It could be argued that the MDX scenario is much less likely to happen these days, as the only person a pilot can talk to nowadays is the guy with the radar. Whether the ATC is actively following that flight, well, that's another question for how much VFRs interact with NAS.