Mr Rogers Ruined My Baby!!

[dino might]

leave it to god forsaken fox news to blame Mr Rogers for the degradation of this generations work ethic. i could hardly believe my ears. see for yourself

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[upandcoming]

and fucking kids going to college take his fucking word, o fucking k...you learned that you have to work hard to be someone in elementary school.

[Servo2000]

1. Even Koko the Gorilla loved him

Most people have heard of Koko, the Stanford-educated gorilla who could speak about 1000 words in American Sign Language, and understand about 2000 in English. What most people don’t know, however, is that Koko was an avid Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood fan. As Esquire reported, when Fred Rogers took a trip out to meet Koko for his show, not only did she immediately wrap her arms around him and embrace him, she did what she’d always seen him do onscreen: she proceeded to take his shoes off!

2. He Made Thieves Think Twice

According to a TV Guide piece on him, Fred Rogers drove a plain old Impala for years. One day, however, the car was stolen from the street near the TV station. When Rogers filed a police report, the story was picked up by every newspaper, radio and media outlet around town. Amazingly, within 48 hours the car was left in the exact spot where it was taken from, with an apology on the dashboard. It read, “If we’d known it was yours, we never would have taken it.â€

3. He Watched His Figure to the Pound!

In covering Rogers’ daily routine (waking up at 5; praying for a few hours for all of his friends and family; studying; writing, making calls and reaching out to every fan who took the time to write him; going for a morning swim; getting on a scale; then really starting his day), writer Tom Junod explained that Mr. Rogers weighed in at exactly 143 pounds every day for the last 30 years of his life. He didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, didn’t eat the flesh of any animals, and was extremely disciplined in his daily routine. And while I’m not sure if any of that was because he’d mostly grown up a chubby, single child, Junod points out that Rogers found beauty in the number 143. According to the piece, Rogers came “to see that number as a gift… because, as he says, “the number 143 means ‘I love you.’ It takes one letter to say ‘I’ and four letters to say ‘love’ and three letters to say ‘you.’ One hundred and forty-three.â€

4. He Saved Both Public Television and the VCR

Strange but true. When the government wanted to cut Public Television funds in 1969, the relatively unknown Mister Rogers went to Washington. Almost straight out of a Capra film, his 5-6 minute testimony on how TV had the potential to give kids hope and create more productive citizens was so simple but passionate that even the most gruff politicians were charmed. While the budget should have been cut, the funding instead jumped from $9 to $22 million. Rogers also spoke to Congress, and swayed senators into voting to allow VCR’s to record television shows from the home. It was a cantankerous debate at the time, but his argument was that recording a program like his allowed working parents to sit down with their children and watch shows as a family.

5. He Might Have Been the Most Tolerant American Ever

Mister Rogers seems to have been almost exactly the same off-screen as he was onscreen. Despite being an ordained Presbyterian minister, and a man of tremendous faith, Mister Rogers preached tolerance first. Whenever he was asked to castigate non-Christians or gays for their differing beliefs, he would instead face them and say, with sincerity, “God loves you just the way you are.†Often this provoked ire from fundamentalists.

6. He Was Genuinely Curious about Others

Mister Rogers was known as one of the toughest interviews because he’d often befriend reporters, asking them tons of questions, taking pictures of them, compiling an album for them at the end of their time together, and calling them after to check in on them and hear about their families. He wasn’t concerned with himself, and genuinely loved hearing the life stories of others. Amazingly, it wasn’t just with reporters. Once, on a fancy trip up to a PBS exec’s house, he heard the limo driver was going to wait outside for 2 hours, so he insisted the driver come in and join them (which flustered the host). On the way back, Rogers sat up front, and when he learned that they were passing the driver’s home on the way, he asked if they could stop in to meet his family. According to the driver, it was one of the best nights of his life—the house supposedly lit up when Rogers arrived, and he played jazz piano and bantered with them late into the night. Further, like with the reporters, Rogers sent him notes and kept in touch with the driver for the rest of his life.

7. He was Color-blind

Literally. He couldn’t see the color blue. Of course, he was also figuratively color-blind, as you probably guessed. As were his parents who took in a black foster child when Rogers was growing up.

8. He Could Make a Subway Car full of Strangers Sing

Once while rushing to a New York meeting, there were no cabs available, so Rogers and one of his colleagues hopped on the subway. Esquire reported that the car was filled with people, and they assumed they wouldn’t be noticed. But when the crowd spotted Rogers, they all simultaneously burst into song, chanting “It’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood.†The result made Rogers smile wide.

A few other things:

9. He got into TV because he hated TV. The first time he turned one on, he saw people angrily throwing pies in each other’s faces. He immediately vowed to use the medium for better than that. Over the years he covered topics as varied as why kids shouldn’t be scared of a haircut, or the bathroom drain (because you won’t fit!), to divorce and war.

10. He was an Ivy League Dropout. Rogers moved from Dartmouth to Rollins College to pursue his studies in music.

11. He composed all the songs on the show, and over 200 tunes.

12. He was a perfectionist, and disliked ad libbing. He felt he owed it to children to make sure every word on his show was thought out.

13. Michael Keaton got his start on the show as an assistant– helping puppeteer and operate the trolley.

14. Several characters on the show are named for his family. Queen Sara is named after Rogers’ wife, and the postman Mr. McFeely is named for his maternal grandfather who always talked to him like an adult, and reminded young Fred that he made every day special just by being himself. Sound familiar? It was the same way Mister Rogers closed every show.

15. The sweaters. Every one of the cardigans he wore on the show had been hand-knit by his mother.

Good guy, that Rogers.

[edwithoutahead]

^ great post

here is Mr. Rogers speaking to the U.S. Senate

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[keagan]

His voice is so warm and soothing, everytime he speaks a wave of nostalgia runs over me.

What a great guy he was.

[TokenIndianKid]

Mr. Rogers was the shit

i dont think there is any way you could talk shit on him, unless your fox news of course

if most people actually practiced what he said on his shows, this world would most def be a better place

[sean_]

i completely forgot he was dead

i want to grab mr rogers on dvd, does it exist

and great post servo

[mike lowrey]

Good guy, that Rogers.

whoa, that list was pretty dope! I was a big Rogers and Sesame fan boy as a kid.

what goes for the original post, didn't Sesame Street teach that guys living in dumpsters are your friends. I blame Alladin for giving me the idea that you can fly on a carpet. video games are the reason why I fire heavy artillery around the city searching for mutants.

Children don't become fucking stupid unless you let them.

[kauflust]

i remember mr rogers going out to learn to make zongzi and other ethnic foods. it was like a personal shout out and i felt speshul.

[blm14]

from now on, any time that anyone wants to point to fox news as a reputable source of information, I need only post that youtube vid. Discussion over. Anyone who can posit that fred rogers was a negative influence on the children of the world has a either a forked tongue and a pointy tail, or a steaming pile of cow droppings in their tiny sad cranium.

[Brienneoftarth]

i'd like to see Mr Rogers curb Bill O'Reillys skull in that magical little train land he has. he'd have to keep his shoes on to do that though

[onemancult]

Mr. Rogers was the father I never had.

[RAISED BY WOLVES]

Mr. Rogers was the father I never had.

Swear down I thought you would come in the thread spouting off something about how he was a closet racist or bit his hit single off of killing joke or some shit....

Sometimes you still impress me.

[djrajio]

Don Chance, a finance professor at Louisiana State University, says it dawned on him last spring. The semester was ending, and as usual, students were making a pilgrimage to his office, asking for the extra points needed to lift their grades to A's.

"They felt so entitled," he recalls, "and it just hit me. We can blame Mr. Rogers."

ONLINE TODAY

Forum: Join Jeffrey Zaslow and others in a discussion on parenting styles.

Fred Rogers, the late TV icon, told several generations of children that they were "special" just for being whoever they were. He meant well, and he was a sterling role model in many ways. But what often got lost in his self-esteem-building patter was the idea that being special comes from working hard and having high expectations for yourself.

Now Mr. Rogers, like Dr. Spock before him, has been targeted for re-evaluation. And he's not the only one. As educators and researchers struggle to define the new parameters of parenting, circa 2007, some are revisiting the language of child ego-boosting. What are the downsides of telling kids they're special? Is it a mistake to have children call us by our first names? When we focus all conversations on our children's lives, are we denying them the insights found when adults talk about adult things?

Some are calling for a recalibration of the mind-sets and catch-phrases that have taken hold in recent decades. Among the expressions now being challenged:

"You're special." On the Yahoo Answers Web site, a discussion thread about Mr. Rogers begins with this posting: "Mr. Rogers spent years telling little creeps that he liked them just the way they were. He should have been telling them there was a lot of room for improvement. ... Nice as he was, and as good as his intentions may have been, he did a disservice."

Signs of narcissism among college students have been rising for 25 years, according to a recent study led by a San Diego State University psychologist. Obviously, Mr. Rogers alone can't be blamed for this. But as Prof. Chance sees it, "he's representative of a culture of excessive doting."

Prof. Chance teaches many Asian-born students, and says they accept whatever grade they're given; they see B's and C's as an indication that they must work harder, and that their elders assessed them accurately. They didn't grow up with Mr. Rogers or anyone else telling them they were born special.

By contrast, American students often view lower grades as a reason to "hit you up for an A because they came to class and feel they worked hard," says Prof. Chance. He wishes more parents would offer kids this perspective: "The world owes you nothing. You have to work and compete. If you want to be special, you'll have to prove it."

"They're just children." When kids are rude, self-absorbed or disrespectful, some parents allow or endure it by saying, "Well, they're just children." The phrase is a worthy one when it's applied to a teachable moment, such as telling kids not to stick their fingers in electrical sockets. But as an excuse or as justification for unacceptable behavior, "They're just children" is just misguided.

"Call me Cindy." Is it appropriate to place kids on the same level as adults, with all of us calling each other by our first names? On one hand, the familiarity can mark a loving closeness between child and adult. But on the other hand, when a child calls an adult Mr. or Ms., it helps him recognize that status is earned by age and experience. It's also a reminder to respect your elders.

"Tell me about your day." It is crucial to talk to kids about their lives, and that dialogue can enrich the whole family. However, parents also need to discuss their own lives and experiences, says Alvin Rosenfeld, a Manhattan-based child psychiatrist who studies family interactions.

In America today, life often begins with the anointing of "His Majesty, the Fetus," he says. From then on, many parents focus their conversations on their kids. Today's parents "are the best-educated generation ever," says Dr. Rosenfeld. "So why do our kids see us primarily discussing kids' schedules and activities?"

He encourages parents to talk about their passions and interests; about politics, business, world events. "Because everything is child-centered today, we're depriving children of adults," he says. "If they never see us as adults being adults, how will they deal with important matters when it is their world?"

[alex_844]

wow, that fox news report was just a bunch of repetitive yelling for 5 minutes straight.

[rome1]

peace, love, and caridigans.

[onemancult]

Swear down I thought you would come in the thread spouting off something about how he was a closet racist or bit his hit single off of killing joke or some shit....

Sometimes you still impress me.

Mr. Rogers ghost-wrote every single good song you've ever heard,

except for "Boom Bye-Bye", which he only had 'creative input' on.

Back to reality, Mr. Rogers was really it when I was young. I have

no qualms admitting that I shed a few tears when I found out he passed

away.

R.I.P., TV Daddy.

[cultpop 0217]

During the 1997 Daytime Emmys, the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Rogers. The following is an excerpt from Esquire Magazine's coverage of the gala, written by Tom Junod:

Mister Rogers went onstage to accept the award — and there, in front of all the soap opera stars and talk show sinceratrons, in front of all the jutting man-tanned jaws and jutting saltwater bosoms, he made his small bow and said into the microphone, "All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Ten seconds of silence."

And then he lifted his wrist, looked at the audience, looked at his watch, and said, 'I'll watch the time." There was, at first, a small whoop from the crowd, a giddy, strangled hiccup of laughter, as people realized that he wasn't kidding, that Mister Rogers was not some convenient eunuch, but rather a man, an authority figure who actually expected them to do what he asked. And so they did. One second, two seconds, three seconds — and now the jaws clenched, and the bosoms heaved, and the mascara ran, and the tears fell upon the beglittered gathering like rain leaking down a crystal chandelier. And Mister Rogers finally looked up from his watch and said softly, "May God be with you," to all his vanquished children.

source: wiki

fuck fox news forever.

[sybaritical]

W0ha.

Never heard of the guy before.

How'd that happpen?

[mizanation]

what was your favorite mr. roger's episode?

i think mine was when he went to the cheese factory. they showed how they take a big vat of milk and turn it into curds and whey. then, they strained out all the whey and salted the curds. then, they added some kind of chemical and big machine churned the chunks of soft pre-cheese. then they pressed it and all the juice came out. what was left were there big wheels of cheese that they put wax on and aged.

this started my lifelong love affair with cheese.

[mike lowrey]

Mister Rogers went onstage to accept the award — and there, in front of all the soap opera stars and talk show sinceratrons, in front of all the jutting man-tanned jaws and jutting saltwater bosoms, he made his small bow and said into the microphone, "All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Ten seconds of silence."

And then he lifted his wrist, looked at the audience, looked at his watch, and said, 'I'll watch the time." There was, at first, a small whoop from the crowd, a giddy, strangled hiccup of laughter, as people realized that he wasn't kidding, that Mister Rogers was not some convenient eunuch, but rather a man, an authority figure who actually expected them to do what he asked. And so they did. One second, two seconds, three seconds — and now the jaws clenched, and the bosoms heaved, and the mascara ran, and the tears fell upon the beglittered gathering like rain leaking down a crystal chandelier. And Mister Rogers finally looked up from his watch and said softly, "May God be with you," to all his vanquished children.

kaJQLgiXKO0

[Servo2000]

I'm sure itsmeJT will call me gay again, but that part where he's singing to the little kid in the wheelchair had me fucking bawling.

[kauflust]

I'm sure itsmeJT will call me gay again, but that part where he's singing to the little kid in the wheelchair had me fucking bawling.

that little kid in the wheelchair just died recently.

http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=7605

http://www.wpt.org/blog/2007/06/our-neighborhood-loses-friend.html

[buffalocloud7]

people are dumb if they think that their moral development comes from a TV show. the man was the most harmless person on the planet.

is it just me or do people in general just prefer to blame their problems on someone else?

[mike lowrey]

people are dumb if they think that their moral development comes from a TV show. the man was the most harmless person on the planet.

is it just me or do people in general just prefer to blame their problems on someone else?

why admit not being there for your child when you can blame duke nukem and rappers :confused:

[wEstSidE]

why admit not being there for your child when you can blame duke nukem and rappers :confused:

WAIT...THERE'S A NEW DUKE NUKEM????

[mike lowrey]

nah I was just thinking what destroyed me, in addition to Sesame Street and Rogers of course

[theLorax]

yep, fox is totally right. you gotta work HARD to be special. im working half assed, so im semi special.

special = financial status

[goldengloves]

I actually got rather pissed after watching that Fox news segment. Maybe if everyone here sent them an email telling them how they turned out from watching Roger's show and how Fox is full of complete shit, they might think twice.

Out of all of the things happening in the world and they decide to pick on Mr. fucking Rogers!

[honghonglulu]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Gp2sovaZNRY

that was then

if kids are gonna pay attention now

we put a booty shakin remix out