Do the Fiveish, Oorah!
July 16, 2013 10:25 AM Subscribe
Oorah is a non-profit Jewish organization providing year-round activities and educational opportunities to Jewish children and families (including funding for Kars4Kids. But they also have some amazing videos on YouTube.
I used to have a job that forced me to listen to a local conservative talk radio station in New Jersey from 1AM to 2PM.
That Kars4Kids ad would frequently be in every. single. ad slot. Like, it would just play on a loop for about 5 minutes whenever the station went on a commercial break. Occasionally, a PSA would slip in between the obnoxious jingles.
It was a special kind of hell....
posted by schmod at 10:35 AM on July 16, 2013
That Kars4Kids ad would frequently be in every. single. ad slot. Like, it would just play on a loop for about 5 minutes whenever the station went on a commercial break. Occasionally, a PSA would slip in between the obnoxious jingles.
It was a special kind of hell....
posted by schmod at 10:35 AM on July 16, 2013
Looks like this charity has had a lot of problems with defrauding and misleading donors.
posted by markkraft at 10:39 AM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by markkraft at 10:39 AM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
greg no jury in the world will convict me
posted by elizardbits at 10:39 AM on July 16, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by elizardbits at 10:39 AM on July 16, 2013 [4 favorites]
I wonder how many upper income kids are getting scholarships to Camp Guci and private school from this.
posted by surplus at 10:45 AM on July 16, 2013
posted by surplus at 10:45 AM on July 16, 2013
I believe they are also a kiruv (Jew on Jew missionary) organization.
posted by callmejay at 10:52 AM on July 16, 2013
posted by callmejay at 10:52 AM on July 16, 2013
Jew on Jew missionary
The jokes, they write themselves.
posted by elizardbits at 10:58 AM on July 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
The jokes, they write themselves.
posted by elizardbits at 10:58 AM on July 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
I also have such an organization. I run it from my bed.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 11:04 AM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 11:04 AM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
That damn commercial was my instant signal to change the radio station, back when I drove regularly. I'd put up with any other terrible commercial, but that one.. ugh.
posted by borkencode at 11:09 AM on July 16, 2013
posted by borkencode at 11:09 AM on July 16, 2013
Same same. The sound of a child singing the number one is now enough for me to put my fist directly through my car radio's faceplate.
posted by 1adam12 at 11:18 AM on July 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by 1adam12 at 11:18 AM on July 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Been years, but am I right in remembering almost no vibrato in the man's voice at all?
posted by jamjam at 11:30 AM on July 16, 2013
posted by jamjam at 11:30 AM on July 16, 2013
But they also have some amazing videos on YouTube.
Why, yes. One of them featured a blackface Al Sharpton. Here's another one featuring a rubber "Obama" mask (or something passed off as such) in which all kind of weird Birther shit is spewed.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:42 AM on July 16, 2013
Why, yes. One of them featured a blackface Al Sharpton. Here's another one featuring a rubber "Obama" mask (or something passed off as such) in which all kind of weird Birther shit is spewed.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:42 AM on July 16, 2013
surplus: my wife got a scholarship to GUCI, and she was most definitely NOT upper income.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:42 AM on July 16, 2013
posted by leotrotsky at 11:42 AM on July 16, 2013
Comedians in blackface immitating Sharpton... or doing a bad Obama impersonation in a mask, talking repeatedly about his birth certificate?! Oohrah has a funny sense of humor.
There are so many good charities -- many of them Jewish -- that would love to have you donate to them. (My mother spent her last days in one.) But there's no way I'd donate my car blindly "for kids", without knowing the kind of racism, extremism, and unnecessarily divisive anti-Christian attitudes that this charity promotes... much less how poorly they manage their money and how little of it actually goes to help children.
Money's tight everywhere... and there are better ways to spend yours than on this particular charity.
posted by markkraft at 11:55 AM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
There are so many good charities -- many of them Jewish -- that would love to have you donate to them. (My mother spent her last days in one.) But there's no way I'd donate my car blindly "for kids", without knowing the kind of racism, extremism, and unnecessarily divisive anti-Christian attitudes that this charity promotes... much less how poorly they manage their money and how little of it actually goes to help children.
Money's tight everywhere... and there are better ways to spend yours than on this particular charity.
posted by markkraft at 11:55 AM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
If you are reading this post as a call for support to this charity then you are reading it incorrectly.
posted by elizardbits at 11:59 AM on July 16, 2013
posted by elizardbits at 11:59 AM on July 16, 2013
I wonder if it would be possible to talk about something without scrambling to find the best reason to hate it first.
posted by shakespeherian at 12:02 PM on July 16, 2013
posted by shakespeherian at 12:02 PM on July 16, 2013
leotrotsky I couldn't find any details on the site regarding criteria for awarding scholarships to camp or school.
posted by surplus at 12:03 PM on July 16, 2013
posted by surplus at 12:03 PM on July 16, 2013
I wonder if it would be possible to talk about something without scrambling to find the best reason to hate it first.
Try posting something less repugnant.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:04 PM on July 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Try posting something less repugnant.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:04 PM on July 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I found the second video about how taking kids to a toy store sparks a frightening explosion of materialism quite cute. But as someone who is Jewish myself, I cannot for the life of me grok why this group has chosen an anthropomorphic money suit as its mascot. I watched a suggested video about "Fiveish" having trouble with airport security, while a man in a keffiyeh carrying a nerf gun went through with no trouble, and got squicked.
I'm sorry about the negative responses to the FPP, shakespeherian. And you were by no means asking that people support Oorah's charity. But . . . I felt the eek factor.
posted by DrMew at 1:16 PM on July 16, 2013
I'm sorry about the negative responses to the FPP, shakespeherian. And you were by no means asking that people support Oorah's charity. But . . . I felt the eek factor.
posted by DrMew at 1:16 PM on July 16, 2013
...and this is why I finally paid the fiveish (GBP £3.31 approx.) to join the MeFi community.
I have no idea on which levels I am supposed to understand the post or the comments but I am going to assume that the people who are involved are Good People and I feel that, just by reading, I am learning.
Sorry, unhelpful post, but wanted to get the first one out of the way...
posted by stanf at 1:58 PM on July 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I have no idea on which levels I am supposed to understand the post or the comments but I am going to assume that the people who are involved are Good People and I feel that, just by reading, I am learning.
Sorry, unhelpful post, but wanted to get the first one out of the way...
posted by stanf at 1:58 PM on July 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
extremism, and unnecessarily divisive anti-Christian attitudes
I don't know think that either of those links are what you say they are.
Sending letters to conscripted soldiers thanking them for their service isn't so extreme, unless you take the extreme view that Israel does not currently have a right to exist or to possess armed forces. It might be controversial or something that I don't particularly agree with (not being a militarist), but I fail to see how it constitutes extremism.
Encouraging the return of apostates to the fold is something that every religious group does. Preferring one's own religion to that of another religion is kind of a central tenet of most religions and isn't particularly divisive or anti-Christian.
To be clear, fuck these guys and everything they stand for, but fair's fair.
posted by snottydick at 2:07 PM on July 16, 2013
I don't know think that either of those links are what you say they are.
Sending letters to conscripted soldiers thanking them for their service isn't so extreme, unless you take the extreme view that Israel does not currently have a right to exist or to possess armed forces. It might be controversial or something that I don't particularly agree with (not being a militarist), but I fail to see how it constitutes extremism.
Encouraging the return of apostates to the fold is something that every religious group does. Preferring one's own religion to that of another religion is kind of a central tenet of most religions and isn't particularly divisive or anti-Christian.
To be clear, fuck these guys and everything they stand for, but fair's fair.
posted by snottydick at 2:07 PM on July 16, 2013
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
K- A- R- S- Kars for Kids,
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
Society is not a disease, it is a disaster. What a stupid miracle that one can live in it.
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
K- A- R- S- Kars for Kids,
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
Ennui is the echo in us of time tearing itself apart.
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
K- A- R- S- Kars for Kids,
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
Life is possible only by the deficiencies of our imagination and memory.
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
K- A- R- S- Kars for Kids,
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
So long as man is protected by madness he functions and flourishes, but when he frees himself from the fruitful tyranny of fixed ideas, he is lost, ruined.
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
K- A- R- S- Kars for Kids,
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
It is because we are all impostors that we endure each other. The man who does not consent to lie will see the Earth shrink under his feet: we are biologically obliged to be false.
posted by Sticherbeast at 2:44 PM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
K- A- R- S- Kars for Kids,
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
Society is not a disease, it is a disaster. What a stupid miracle that one can live in it.
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
K- A- R- S- Kars for Kids,
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
Ennui is the echo in us of time tearing itself apart.
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
K- A- R- S- Kars for Kids,
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
Life is possible only by the deficiencies of our imagination and memory.
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
K- A- R- S- Kars for Kids,
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
So long as man is protected by madness he functions and flourishes, but when he frees himself from the fruitful tyranny of fixed ideas, he is lost, ruined.
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
K- A- R- S- Kars for Kids,
1-877-Kars 4 kids,
It is because we are all impostors that we endure each other. The man who does not consent to lie will see the Earth shrink under his feet: we are biologically obliged to be false.
posted by Sticherbeast at 2:44 PM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Fiveish is the mascot of the Oorah Auction, which costs only $5 per bid, which is why the mascot is a five dollar bill.
The fact that Jews use a five dollar bill as a mascot for this event is only funny if you think there is inherently something about the combination of Jews and money. I can assure you, many Jews would not share your sense that this is inherently hilarious, as its origin is deeply antisemitic.
There are plenty of reasons to be critical of this group. The fact that they have an entirely logical mascot doesn't strike me as one of them.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 5:01 PM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
The fact that Jews use a five dollar bill as a mascot for this event is only funny if you think there is inherently something about the combination of Jews and money. I can assure you, many Jews would not share your sense that this is inherently hilarious, as its origin is deeply antisemitic.
There are plenty of reasons to be critical of this group. The fact that they have an entirely logical mascot doesn't strike me as one of them.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 5:01 PM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
"Fiveish" is a humorous spelling of the Yiddish name "Feivish", which is derived from the Latin name "Phoebus", which is a translation of the Aramaic name "Shraga", which is a translation of the Hebrew name "Meir". The combination "Shraga Feivish" is still quite common in Yiddish-speaking communities. It's rather cool the way this name encapsulates around 2,000 years of peregrinations.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:26 PM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:26 PM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Mod note: A couple comments about "why is the mascot for a Jewish group a $5 bill" deleted; and now that we have an explanation about that, maybe let's drop that subject?
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:51 PM on July 16, 2013
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:51 PM on July 16, 2013
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THE EARWORM
YOU MONSTER
posted by elizardbits at 10:28 AM on July 16, 2013 [2 favorites]