Native Instruments Hitler Humor

[Piyono]

I was using Native Instruments' Guitar Rig at a local studio today when I came across a preset in the compressor module named "Mein Comp". I don't know if this is supposed to be a play on Hitler's "Mein Kampf", but if it is, it sure as hell isn't funny.

I emailed my concerns to NI on Tuesday night, asking for an explanation, further stating that I would post my findings with the pro audio community at large if they didn't get back to me by Friday at 2:00 pm. It's now past 2:00 pm and I've heard nothing from them, so I'm fulfilling my end of the ultimatum.

As you may have guessed Third-Reich-Revisionist humour does not amuse me, unless the Third Reich is at the butt of the jokes.

While I Native Instruments arguably cannot help that one of their programmers has neo-Nazi proclivities, they had damned well make sure that potentially offensive shit like that gets squelched during alpha testing. The fact that "Mein Comp" made it into the release is a bit shocking, I mean, how many people read those preset names during the development phase? During Alpha testing? Beta Testing? Release Candidates?

Anyway, all I want is for NI to acknowledge the error and correct it in the next release.

I'm usually pretty quiet on these forums but this sorta irked me. Sorry if it starts a flame war.

This message will be cross-posted to the following forums:
Gearslutz
EQ
Pro Sound Web
rec.audio.pro
3D Audio

Time to get ready for Shabbat.


Piyono

[oneass]

Hi,

Why are you posting this in the "secondhand gear classifieds"-forum?? Doesn't make sense to me..

Anyway, I don't think this "Mein Comp"-thing was supposed to be a joke. It just means "My Comp", and I don't see anything wrong with that. Or are you suggesting to ban the words "Mein" and "Kampf" out of the German language?!?

[drew]

time to switch to decaf?

[syra]

Chill out Piyono...sometimes thinking too much can produce undesirable results...this is one of those moments...just take it easy

[Elsteve9]

I think he's right to be concerned about this.

The phrase 'mein comp' was obviously chosen because it sounds similiar to 'mein kampf'. No doubt.
Even though it means 'my compressor.' They could as easily (and more accurately) named it 'German Comp'.

I expect, though, that someone chose the name, and didn't think too much about it. I'd be a bit surprised if there is a neo-nazi at NI. Not impossible, though.

This is a subject people need to be sensitive to.
Remember, the 'third reich' was far more terrible than racism in the U.S. during the first part of the century (not trying to defend that, just using it for comparison) and I can't go around making references to the KKK without someone getting upset.
If there was a preset in guitar rig that sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd and it was named 'Nygers Inyrds" or something like that, we would all agree it was terrible. Why not in this case?

You've got to keep in mind, guys, that neo-nazism and anti-semitism are making remarkable comebacks in Europe. Just because the problem has been gone for 60 years (something we can't really say about racism in the US), does not mean it won't come back.
Those two ideas repeat themselves through history incessantly...They'll both be back, sooner or later.
NI should be a bit more conscious of this, even though I expect it was intended in 'good humor'.

-Stephen

[Henchman]

Boo ****ing Hoo.
Lighten the **** up or get out of the muzic business.
It' s political correct crybabies like you that are busy taking all the fun out of media.
Go join a church or something and stay away from music forums.

[hostile17]

some people need to put as much work into there music as they do with there pc nonsense.

that is why there is live jornual so i can come read and read good advice from good artist not someone getty there patnies in a wad ove a preset from a fricken piesc of computer software.

if you really want to go bitch about something go do reserch on IBMs supprt of hiter

[shangoe]

you can be shure that the people at NI are some easy nice guys....


stupid discussion....

[David R.]

Originally posted by Henchman
Boo ****ing Hoo.
Lighten the **** up or get out of the muzic business.
It' s political correct crybabies like you that are busy taking all the fun out of media.
Go join a church or something and stay away from music forums.

That's over the line.

Hitler and all that he stood for is not something to 'get over.'

Mein Kamph is the book Hitler wrote shortly before declaring himself leader of Germany.

I do not find the name invokes anything funny.

I think they should change the name, perhaps they did not realize some would be so offended, but they should be aware by now.

[denial]

Originally posted by Piyono
I was using Native Instruments' Guitar Rig at a local studio today when I came across a preset in the compressor module named "Mein Comp". I don't know if this is supposed to be a play on Hitler's "Mein Kampf", but if it is, it sure as hell isn't funny.

You said it yourself, the preset is called "Mein Comp" and not "Mein Kampf". There is no valid argument. Let it be.

[Jose Mrochek]

I'll bomb Native Instruments. Do they make anything good ? I'm not getting the joke, even if it does or not make sense , they should be killed. And you slutz, should give some support to a fellow slut who is pissed, so this goes to you to

[Henchman]

Originally posted by David R.
That's over the line.

Hitler and all that he stood for is not something to 'get over.'

Mein Kamph is the book Hitler wrote shortly before declaring himself leader of Germany.

I do not find the name invokes anything funny.

I think they should change the name, perhaps they did not realize some would be so offended, but they should be aware by now.

I'll repeat again. In case you missed it the first time:

Boo ****ing Hoo.
Lighten the **** up or get out of the muzic business.
It' s political correct crybabies like you that are busy taking all the fun out of media.
Go join a church or something and stay away from music forums.

[Jose Mrochek]

Originally posted by Henchman
I'll repeat again. In case you missed it the first time:

Boo ****ing Hoo.
Lighten the **** up or get out of the muzic business.
It' s political correct crybabies like you that are busy taking all the fun out of media.
Go join a church or something and stay away from music forums.

Henchman I repeat

[Synth80s]

Yeah, and what's with FMR Audio calling their compressor the RNC? ***Clearly*** that means they're big supporters of the REPULICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, hence they're a bunch of uzi-toting, seal-clubbing, right-wing nutbags, right? There can be no other interpretation!!!

And what kind of name is "Mercenary Audio?" They're alligning their image with a bunch of stone cold heartless killers!!!! What kind of sick f*ck would you be to buy gear from that gang of psychotics?!!??!

BOYCOTT!!! BOYCOTT!!!

-Synth80s (who is kidding in case you have no sense of humor)

P.S. If you spend your life looking for a singular meaning or a common thread in everything the world has to offer, that one thing is all you'll ever hear, see or feel.

[Jose Mrochek]

Originally posted by Synth80s
Yeah, and what's with FMR Audio calling their compressor the RNC? ***Clearly*** that means they're big supporters of the REPULICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, hence they're a bunch of uzi-toting, seal-clubbing, right-wing nutbags, right? There can be no other interpretation!!!

And what kind of name is "Mercenary Audio?" They're alligning their image with a bunch of stone cold heartless killers!!!! What kind of sick f*ck would you be to buy gear from that gang of psychotics?!!??!

BOYCOTT!!! BOYCOTT!!!

-Synth80s (who is kidding in case you have no sense of humor)

P.S. If you spend your life looking for a singular meaning or a common thread in everything the world has to offer, that one thing is all you'll ever hear, see or feel.

This should recieve the "dumbest reply ever" award here at GS.

[Henchman]

Originally posted by Jose Mrochek
This should recieve the "dumbest reply ever" award here at GS.

No it's not. The original post should.
Bunch of friggin' crybaby wankers.

Bohoo somebody hurt my feewings.

[djui5]

Originally posted by drew
time to switch to decaf?

Starbucks strikes again...


They've progressed from road rage and drive-thru anger to the control rooms of america......

This must be stopped at all costs...


Decaf for all..........except me of course.....

[Tim Halligan]

Wordplay...that's all it is.

It's also a useful advertising tool: name a product so that the NAME invokes an impression/memory of something else.

Thought process: "mein comp"...aha!...German. Comp = err...compressor. Therefore, German comp gives me a clue as to the sound/gear they are driving at.

Truckloads more efficient than saying "preset modelled on Neumann/whoever amplifier whose output is a ratio of its input from last century"


Sheesh! Lighten up.


Cheers,
Tim

[Nitrox]

Originally posted by Henchman

Boo ****ing Hoo.
Lighten the **** up or get out of the muzic business.
It' s political correct crybabies like you that are busy taking all the fun out of media.
Go join a church or something and stay away from music forums.

Wow... i actually think YOU should 'Lighten the **** up'...
BTW - thanks for letting us non-crybabies stay in the forum... :)
just relax, buddy:)

[5down1up]

what other gear and advertisment is also part of that conspiracy ?

SS L , Shotgun Mics , Rectifier ( builded like a tank ) , Waves Enigma ( decoding machine during WW2 ) , Bombfactory ...

maybe NATIVE INSTRUMENTS ( thats a political statement as well ? ) will come up soon with a new plug ...

the STALIN ORGAN

[Brian Middleton]

Piyono, I agree that naming your product after Hitler's book is stupid and offensive. But suggesting it means there are "neo-Nazis" at NI seems a little wacky. Isn't it far more likely it's just some clueless wiseass marketing geeks with no sense of the history or the tragedy involved?

For a lot of kids today, the Holocaust is a very faroff historical event. And it's a fact of life that the further back in time any historical event gets, the more it is seen as fair game for humor. (I've heard people make joking references to Vlad the Impaler, but I guarantee you if we were living in southeast Europe circa the late 15th century, no one would see anything funny about him.)

I'm not saying you were wrong to be offended, just that you may have jumped to some hasty conclusions about the motives behind this piece of "wit."

[Brian Middleton]

Wordplay...that's all it is.

It's also a useful advertising tool: name a product so that the NAME invokes an impression/memory of something else.

Thought process: "mein comp"...aha!...German. Comp = err...compressor. Therefore, German comp gives me a clue as to the sound/gear they are driving at.

Truckloads more efficient than saying "preset modelled on Neumann/whoever amplifier whose output is a ratio of its input from last century"

To use "mein comp" as shorthand for "German" is like a seafood company naming their product "Ku Klux Klams" to suggest that they're "American style."

"Mein Kampf" is a book that ushered in a movement to exterminate an entire people from the face of the earth. To name your product after it may be "efficient" but that doesn't make it any less offensive.

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by Brian Middleton
To use "mein comp" as shorthand for "German" is like a seafood company naming their product "Ku Klux Klams" to suggest that they're "American style."

"Mein Kampf" is a book that ushered in a movement to exterminate an entire people from the face of the earth. To name your product after it may be "efficient" but that doesn't make it any less offensive.

Umm, I probably shouldn't say this, but I find 'Ku Klux Klams" to be pretty funny....

And for your edification (if not education), "Mein Kampf" was NOT the book that 'ushered in a movement to exterminate an entire people from the face of the earth', anymore than "I'm OK, You're OK" ushered in the movement of "Political Correctness". The rise of German nationalism and 'racial purity' (Specifically, pseudo-scientific rationales explaining why Caucasians are 'superior) started generations before the Great War. And while I'm thinking about it, have any of you complainers actually READ Mein Kampf?

(I KNOW I'm gonna regret posting this...)

[MattiMattMatt]

It's interesting how sometimes product developers working in one part of the world are oblivious to the concerns of their customers in another part of the world.

TC Electronics, for example, had a preset called "chink chink" which they meant for a certain guitar sound, but had potentially offensive racial overtones they were not aware of.

I remember that a couple of intel engineers were fired after it was discovered that they had burned something like "Gates sucks" into the silicon of a certain batch of Pentium chips, visible under an electron microscope.

My guess, for whatever it's worth (maybe nothing) is that someone at NI intentionally made a pun on Mein Kompf with Mein Comp, and figured it was funny and not offensive, and right now they're trying to figure out damage control. They'll likely say "we didn't intend the pun with Mein Kompf, but will change this name in future versions. Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

[drew]

Originally posted by Dave Martin
Umm, I probably shouldn't say this, but I find 'Ku Klux Klams" to be pretty funny....

I find it fukking hilarious!!!! Whenever you bring the atrocious into the mundane, to view it as anything other than funny is absurd.

[Midlandmorgan]

Sorry...but this is a slap silly complaint...get over yourselves.

Should I be offended when I read about the amp called a "Cowtipper?" ... Or how about a footpedal called "Woman Tone"; isn't that offensive to females, seeings how it always equates to a crying sound?

Lets just get a few more outta the way...how can any of us ever expect to be taken serious when we refer to synching as a "master-slave" relationship? How about "chickin-picking?" How about any sports team with an American Indian mascot name? Or scalping tickets to an event? Ever seen a preset anywhere called "Hillbilly Heaven?" Is looking for the magic MoTown sound racist? C'mon, y'all...lets at least pretend to be reasonable adults.

Seems to me we all could stand to lessen the amount of time and energy we excert in looking for things to be offended by

(Ku-Klux-Klams is absolutely hilarious, BTW...is this a new form of race "baiting?" Is the thread "floundering?" Do these guys wear shells instead of sheets for a reason? )

[MattiMattMatt]

Originally posted by Dave Martin
Umm, I probably shouldn't say this, but I find 'Ku Klux Klams" to be pretty funny....

Me too....

Originally posted by Dave Martin
And for your edification (if not education), "Mein Kampf" was NOT the book that 'ushered in a movement to exterminate an entire people from the face of the earth', anymore than "I'm OK, You're OK" ushered in the movement of "Political Correctness".

Sure, but for your education (I'm not sure any one of us has the power to "edify" any other one of us, but wouldn't that be great if it were true?! ) a book does not have to be about something to become a symbol of it. That's not how symbols work. Often the most powerful symbols have only a tenuous relationship between their literal content and the object of their symbolism. For all we care, Mein Kampf could be a cookbook, but in the annals of history, it has come to symbolize the aspirations of its author.

Take another, less loaded example: "jock." No one has any problem calling a female athlete a jock even though the word itself is derived from jock strap. The symbolic meaning of the word has outgrown its original, literal, meaning, as has "Mein Kompf."

That's not to say that "Mein Comp" is evil because "Mein Kompf" has become a symbol of evil. But to deny the symbolism of the book isn't really a valid way to defang the issue.

Reminds me of an incident in which a swastika was graffiti-ed on a temple in Nashville. Those who would deny the symbolism of the swastika might say "you know, the swastika is also an Indian sign of peace." Well, yeah, but...!

The best response came from an old Southern Jew (this from a book about this guy's life) in the neighborhood who, after everyone was going crazy and saying how it was so horrible, there must be so much anti-semitism in the area (but he realized it was not as big of a deal as everyone was making it out to be) suggested that the angry mob take a trip to the nearest Christian Science Church and paint a huge "Rx" on the side of it.

:)

[cajonezzz]

Just thought you all should know I went ahead and copyrighted "Ku Klux Klams"

I'll be looking to strike a deal with Cambell's soup for distrobution of my new chowder.


( yes I'm joking, you PC sensitive dumbasses)

[Brian Middleton]

Umm, I probably shouldn't say this, but I find 'Ku Klux Klams" to be pretty funny....

Context is everything. Here in this forum, I find it kind of funny too (hell, I made it up). But I don't think I'd find it funny on a can in the grocery store. And if I was black I think I'd find it even less funny.

The rise of German nationalism and 'racial purity' (Specifically, pseudo-scientific rationales explaining why Caucasians are 'superior) started generations before the Great War.

True, but it was not until Hitler cam