Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/05/11

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Tom Kumagai
From: "B. D. Colen" <BDColen@earthlink.net>
Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 11:12:54 -0400

>Why do you think that having a preference for Leica instead of Canon/Nikon
>copies is a racial slur?  Is this a the new Japenese marketing strategy?

Well, because some of you were saying "Japanese are stealing..." insted of
"Nikon is..." or "Canon is...."
I got too emotional. Being an indivisual of Japanese origin, being a man
grew up in the culture

How about we all recognize that much that was developed by Germany during
the years 1933-45 was developed under circumstances that should ashame any
thinking person? That some of these patents/developments were taken after
the War is a fact of international life - a couple of lens or shutter
patents hardly make up for what Germany unleashed on the world during those
12 years. Calling it "theft" raises all sorts of questions I don't think we
want to delve into here, just as I think Tom is right that we should be a
bit more careful in our national/racial stereotyping. That was then, this is
now. Leitz cameras are fabulous, as are a number of Japanese cameras. Can't
we just leave it at that?

And while we're leaving it at that, let's drop the "mine is better than
yours"  that has dogged the list for the past week.