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This story [1] from Anthony Breznican stuck with me after he shared it on twitter. I firmly believe that the actions Mister Rodgers took would come across as in

This story [1] from Anthony Breznican stuck with me after he shared it on twitter. I firmly believe that the actions Mister Rodgers took would come across as insincere and self-serving if it were basically any other “celebrity”. However, that was the power of Mister Rodgers. He could connect with anyone and made everyone feel like they genuinely mattered to him. I grew up in Pittsburgh and was in a Catholic Grade School when he died. We held a special memorial mass for him because of the impact he had on both our city and kids generally. I can’t think of anyone else that would be done for, not even Dan Rooney or Mario Lemieux. Mister Rodgers was one of a kind. [1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/05/23/mr-rogers-story-probably-make-you-cry/340111001/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/05/23/mr...

slededit 9y ago
It takes a special kind of person to probe someones feelings when its obvious they are upset. Most people don't want to share the baggage - although the term awkward is more commonly used. But Mr. Rogers was all about feelings.
kolpa 9y ago
Sigh, a story chopped up over 29 tweets.
sdrothrock 9y ago
> I firmly believe that the actions Mister Rodgers took would come across as insincere and self-serving if it were basically any other “celebrity”. On the one hand, I think Fred Rogers was a wonderful human being. What I say next is not meant to detract from that in any way at all. I don't think Fred Rogers was special. Anyone can do what he did; the problem is that most people simply don't want to, I think. We've been taught that that kind of behavior is tiring, that we deserve "me" time and thoughts, that the public space is also "our" space. When I think about Fred Rogers, my mental image is that service is first, then celebrity came from that consistent service. Any modern day celebrity could slowly take on a Fred Rogers-like image if they chose to consistently and wholly devote themselves to kindness and service. In the beginning, it may seem insincere, but then as it continued consistently, I think that sincerity would be born from that consistency. Especially if they ceased other commercial activities or used those activities solely to plainly drive their service. Edit: I've been reading the Esquire article about him (https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a27134/can-you-say-hero-esq1198/ https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a27134/can-you-say-...) and interestingly enough, there's a quote about this: "You would think it would be easy by now, being Mister Rogers; you would think that one morning he would wake up and think, Okay, all I have to do is be nice for my allotted half hour today, and then I'll just take the rest of the day off . . . But no, Mister Rogers is a stubborn man"
- a3n 9y ago
  > I don't think Fred Rogers was special. Anyone can do what he did ... He's special because he stepped up and did it.
  - sdrothrock 9y ago
    Indeed. I knew this kind of comment would come up, which is why I tried to address it at the beginning. The point I really want to make is that for all that people talk about how fantastic he was and how he should have been canonized etc. -- he was just a guy who decided to do that. There's nothing stopping anyone else from doing that, from being nice and going the extra mile for other people. There isn't some intrinsic quality that prevents anyone from being like that other than the decision to, well, do that.
  - jstarfish 9y ago
    In this day and age though, who would want to? Everybody has skeletons in their closet. Lots of people have tried to dig up dirt on Mr. Rogers' saintly image, but failed. Meanwhile, Melanie Martinez, the host on PBS' "The Good Night Show" for children got canned when some "offensive" humor video she had made prior to her position surfaced. Her on-air personality was perfectly congenial. Mr. Rogers only worked because he was less human than the rest of us. He never slipped up. We never caught him picking up hookers by the docks. We could never find a reason to take him down.
- azinman2 9y ago
  It requires a lot of talent to figure out what children need developmentally, the kinds of things they’re going through and how to turn that into calming entertainment, talent to be a puppeteer and a song writer, talent to be a host and have a consistent vision, and a lot of raw drive to keep it going for decades. I don’t think just anyone could do it.

slededit 9y ago

It takes a special kind of person to probe someones feelings when its obvious they are upset. Most people don't want to share the baggage - although the term awkward is more commonly used. But Mr. Rogers was all about feelings.

kolpa 9y ago

Sigh, a story chopped up over 29 tweets.

sdrothrock 9y ago

> I firmly believe that the actions Mister Rodgers took would come across as insincere and self-serving if it were basically any other “celebrity”. On the one hand, I think Fred Rogers was a wonderful human being. What I say next is not meant to detract from that in any way at all. I don't think Fred Rogers was special. Anyone can do what he did; the problem is that most people simply don't want to, I think. We've been taught that that kind of behavior is tiring, that we deserve "me" time and thoughts, that the public space is also "our" space. When I think about Fred Rogers, my mental image is that service is first, then celebrity came from that consistent service. Any modern day celebrity could slowly take on a Fred Rogers-like image if they chose to consistently and wholly devote themselves to kindness and service. In the beginning, it may seem insincere, but then as it continued consistently, I think that sincerity would be born from that consistency. Especially if they ceased other commercial activities or used those activities solely to plainly drive their service. Edit: I've been reading the Esquire article about him (https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a27134/can-you-say-hero-esq1198/ https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a27134/can-you-say-...) and interestingly enough, there's a quote about this: "You would think it would be easy by now, being Mister Rogers; you would think that one morning he would wake up and think, Okay, all I have to do is be nice for my allotted half hour today, and then I'll just take the rest of the day off . . . But no, Mister Rogers is a stubborn man"

a3n 9y ago
> I don't think Fred Rogers was special. Anyone can do what he did ... He's special because he stepped up and did it.
- sdrothrock 9y ago
  Indeed. I knew this kind of comment would come up, which is why I tried to address it at the beginning. The point I really want to make is that for all that people talk about how fantastic he was and how he should have been canonized etc. -- he was just a guy who decided to do that. There's nothing stopping anyone else from doing that, from being nice and going the extra mile for other people. There isn't some intrinsic quality that prevents anyone from being like that other than the decision to, well, do that.
- jstarfish 9y ago
  In this day and age though, who would want to? Everybody has skeletons in their closet. Lots of people have tried to dig up dirt on Mr. Rogers' saintly image, but failed. Meanwhile, Melanie Martinez, the host on PBS' "The Good Night Show" for children got canned when some "offensive" humor video she had made prior to her position surfaced. Her on-air personality was perfectly congenial. Mr. Rogers only worked because he was less human than the rest of us. He never slipped up. We never caught him picking up hookers by the docks. We could never find a reason to take him down.
azinman2 9y ago
It requires a lot of talent to figure out what children need developmentally, the kinds of things they’re going through and how to turn that into calming entertainment, talent to be a puppeteer and a song writer, talent to be a host and have a consistent vision, and a lot of raw drive to keep it going for decades. I don’t think just anyone could do it.