Golite/Eureka “NIGOR” Packs.

removed

Isn't this why companies hire cultural anthropologists? Also, people with some common sense?

Does it come in gold?

I just googled Nigor and was surprised what it came back with.

Next in golite's new line of packs the "whetbak".

Too far?????

Yep, a small bit too far.

At least they have not called it the "Paddy" (I am Irish)

Oh no they di-en!

Just sharpie over the 'n' and it'll be Igor, the hungarian pack

Ok so i don't know where the name 'Igor' is from- hopefully Hungary is close.

"Next in golite's new line of packs the "whetbak"."

I'm assuming that would be a hydration pack? LOL Awesome…just awesome.

Matt

I could give a crap what they call it. I just want one – an ION with side pockets!

Wonder if Golite will bring this back in the US?

Dave,

I could bring you one back from Europe in October.

Oh I forgot that guy in my avatar is my dad my mom is 100% mexican- So im not any more racist than anyone else………….. Just sayin

Oh snap, Stephen! I think I will take you up on that offer!

Good stuff Dave, might get one for myself also.

It is probably pronounced to rhyme with 'tiger'.
Well, to rhyme, I guess it would be 'tigor'.

It takes two G's for the 'ihg' sound.
Trigger or Tigger or chigger or whatever.

Still, I don't think explaining that would get you far if someone wanted to relieve boredom by starting a conversation.

Maybe pencil in FALLS under the NIGOR.
Tell them it is a company owned by phonetically spelling rednecks and named for a tourist attraction near Buffalo.

PS – I too would have pronounced it to rhyme with 'trigger'. Just the last year or so I have been exposed to more British pronunciations.

I am really left wondering why we, Americans, pronounce some words the way we do. The British pronunciation sounds odd but, compared to other, similarly spelled words, it is consistent. Our odd words here and there buck the system…

Anyway, for this reason, I bet it is nie-gore like… well, I can't think of a similar word.. I can only think of Nigerian.

for Jeffs Eleven :

God, sometimes listening to you guys is like listening to people who've never been outside their backyard.

Though not surprising that the EU is tone-deaf on this one…

What?!? "Not surprising"? Where in the world did you come up with that one? First off, contemporary Europe is just as conscious about race issues as America is, and just as actively addressing it. Believe it or not, Europe has a very big black population, with enormous numbers of Africans who have arrived and are still arriving from the south. Whatever idea you may have of Europe is way out of date, on exactly the same timeline as that of the States.

Second, this is a European word, a name of a Netherlands based product being sold in Europe, and is pronounced like, "knee gore". It has absolutely no relationship to the English word, nor is it pronounced the way Americans tend to pronounce things.

Third, the word "nigger" is most strongly an American word, with its connotation and history mostly centered within the States itself. This product's name simply won't have the same misunderstanding, impact, and outrage that it would have in the States, especially among non-English speakers, especially since the word for the color black is very often things like "negro" or "nero" in European languages. As an African-American with both European citizenship and background, my first reaction, when reading the name on the German site, was, "Cool name. I wonder what it means?" I didn't associate it with any of the connotations in the States.

Most of the world doesn't speak English, you know.

And it's not as if American companies think much beyond their borders, either. Selling a car called "Nova" in a Spanish-speaking country was not exactly the best idea ever thought up.

Thanks, Miguel. Good post.

I actually LOVE the Nova story. Cracks me up every time I think about it ;)

And yes, very good post.

"God, sometimes listening to you guys is like listening to people who've never been outside their backyard."

Most probably haven't been

I don't think anyone here other than Mr. Perry would have started this thread.

"I don't think anyone here other than Mr. Perry would have started this thread."

(sigh)….Here we go, again………

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/24b56caf3e/black-hiker-with-blair-underwood

Matt

Just seeing if you were paying attention. Good Morning Matthew!

"I actually LOVE the Nova story. Cracks me up every time I think about it ;)"

http://spanish.about.com/cs/culture/a/chevy_nova.htm

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences, Miguel.

I, too, was thinking of the "corporate unconsciousness" that created the Nova fiasco for Chevy. However, unlike that particular situation, and as you have indicated, the N word has very deep and very negative historical roots in the US. (I, like many of the gen-x population here, probably don't have to go far in our family tree where that word was actively used or spoken to). Coincidentally, I heard Obama just spoke about our country's race relations yesterday in an unannounced speech. I didn't get to hear it, but I understand it was quite powerful, and quite relevant to the issues at-hand.)

Therefore, in my opinion, agree with you that the US and Europe are as equally conscious AND UNCONSCIOUS, when it comes to race. However, I very much see this as just another example of corporate unconsciousness and irresponsibility. I believe that creating and naming a product which can easily be miss-construded to represent one of the most offensive words in American culture, is highly disrespectful, at the minimum, even if the pack is never intended to be sold in the States.

This reminds me of a man I once knew who recently passed away. He was an extraordinarily sweet, gentile, and deeply spiritual person. Due to a series of powerful visions he had experienced in the 60's, he had committed himself to the mission to reclaim the ancient symbol of the swastika.
In case you are interested I just found this page about him: http://www.vice.com/read/manwoman-is-taking-back-the-swastika

Anyway, I suspect that the reason I share this is because I have witnessed first-hand the visceral impact that jewish men have experienced just looking at this man without his shirt on, regardless of his sincerity of intentions. For some of them; to simply look at a man covered in an ancient symbol which the Nazi's hijacked and used to their gain was FAR too much to for them bear, both personally, and inter-personally. In my wife's family (Filipino) , we have are elders in her family who wont even look upon Japanese men to this day, due to the indescribable trauma they had experienced by Japanese soldiers as children in the WWII concentration camps.

Like the swastika, I believe it may take many many MANY more generations before the N word may not have the same cultural impact that it still has. And due to the interconnected world that we live in, if I were an international company, it would be in my best interest to pay very close attention to this. I don't foresee any protests and riots over this one, but I can assure I already have friends who will say to me "There goes another one…"

all the best,

Matt

*Ba dum tssshh