[Roadsters] Rising Sun opinions

[Walter Peterson]

I've had no problem with this thread.  It's been civil and like all other
interesting threads, it will run its course and eventually die of natural
causes.
However, my "fence walking" view of The rising Sun logo and by inference,
Asian pride goes like this:

Back around 1978 when I was first introduced to Slalom & Time trial racing
(Now SCCA SOLO I & SOLO II) I met a core group of Datsun fanatics closely
tied to the Datsun competition department.  These folks taught me to stop
racing on the street & to get my kicks on the track, which likely saved my
life, gave me a new one and started my love & respect for the 510, Roadster
& Z.

One of these guys started Rising Sun Motorsports in Redondo Beach (Now
defunct).  He needed a name and logo that everyone could easily identify
with and this was a natural.  I bought one of my first 2 Roadsters from him.
Fast forward a few years and in the South Bay & greater area of Los Angeles
& San Francisco; you may remember the proliferation of East Asian
calligraphy & Logos on import cars which are still a staple to this day.
These cars were seemingly a small slice of the hot-rodding or car tuning
community.  Those import cars & motorcycles of the time gave rise to the
pseudo-derogatory term "Rice burners".  When used in proper context, it can
be a display of pride.  Kind of like those "crappy Sony 10-transistor
radios" of the time, these cars & products have become the wonder of the
world and a significant economic market of their own.

My 50 year old "White bread" perspective is: I forgive the ALL war veterans
who have an unwavering bias against foreign cultures & products.  They
fought a hard battle then & today, and have maintained our freedoms.
Learning tolerance is a cyclical thing throughout history.  However, I'm
offended when I hear purposely derogatory remarks at any stage of their life
(the war is over & they should know better by now.) and out of respect I do
my best to defuse the situation.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if it's wrong (joke). :).
Meanwhile, I'll still have fun trying to kick your ass on the Slalom course,
and my son just graduated from Marine boot camp (MCRD San Diego, Kilo
Company)


Walter Peterson
Goleta Ca, 93117
Street driven race motor
2000 3-Main(R) Solexes,cam etc.
5-Speed & LSD.