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I like Johnny Costa but always found Mr. Rogers himself creepy and never more so than when he was singing.
by zwieback 3y ago
I like Johnny Costa but always found Mr. Rogers himself creepy and never more so than when he was singing.
- mandmandam 3y agoYou found Mr. Rogers creepy? ... I guess that proves you can't please everyone. Mr. Rogers is literally seen as the incarnation of wholesomeness, part of the holy secular trinity of positive male role models with Levar Burton and Bob Ross. You might consider not casting aspersions based on absolutely nothing. If there were any allegations of creepiness they'd have come out by now, so like... Keep his name out yo mouth.
- zwieback 3y agoSorry, man, just my personal reaction. I'm with you on Levar Burton and Bob Ross though.
- waynesonfire 3y agoWhat kind of response did you think you were going to get?
- zwieback 3y agoI didn't have any expectation at all, just contributing my opinion. I value all the feedback I'm getting and totally willing to agree that he was a fine person and I'm an outlier. Doesn't change my gut reaction, though.
- turtlebits 3y agoThe comment probably says more about you than Fred Rogers, but why post something irrelevant to the article?
- dylan604 3y agoTo me, any adult that was that friendly towards kids probably had a panel van. It definitely comes across with that vibe to me. It's a very fine line, and better safe than sorry. I can get the ick vibe and make decisions on that without making any possibly incorrect disparaging remarks about someone. It's just the internal alarms do go off when grown men are attracted to children that are not their own. Yes, I'm painting with a very broad brush, but again safe than sorry.
- jjulius 3y ago>... any adult that was that friendly towards kids... Treating children as people with basic love and respect is all that he asked for, and all that he demonstrated.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- klyrs 3y agoYou say "adult" and then later "grown men." Which is the actual problem? Also, in what way did Fred Rogers demonstrate "attraction" to children?
- sbuttgereit 3y agoYour position sounds like the result of too much media consumption and giving the media, the press, and activists far more credence than they really deserve. Are there bad guys in the world? Yes. But not nearly so many nor as brazen as everyone wanting to yell their story in your ear would have you believe.
- lupire 3y agoAvoiding human friendship is a large cause of the division and unsafety in our modern world.
- ta8645 3y agoThere's a difference between having a negative personal reaction, and sharing it publically. It's causing a public harm based on nothing other than some vague internal feeling. It's unproductive and irresponsible.
- zwieback 3y agoWhat about publicly sharing positive personal reaction, is that okay? If you answer yes to that and no to the other then you've got a problem on your hands.
- qwertthrowway 3y agoTheo problem is when you say bad things about someone that isn’t true it’s called slander and if it’s true then it’s backbiting. It’s not good in general to malign people or put a negative look on them without a good reason.
- aidenn0 3y agoThe original comment said nothing about Fred Rogers. It was "I ... always found Mr. Rogers himself creepy" Furthermore it induced a few interesting replies about his style of looking directly into the camera and long-takes, and parasocial relationships (to be fair, it also induced a single reply with someone implying that while Mr. Rogers probably isn't a pedophile, "better safe than sorry"). As an aside, I'm somewhat surprised nobody's mentioned the puppets yet; lots of people find puppets creepy.
- pimlottc 3y ago> The original comment said nothing about Fred Rogers. It was "I ... always found Mr. Rogers himself creepy" That’s pretty passive aggressive. Wouldn’t you be offended if someone said that about you? “I never said you were stupid, I just /think/ of you as stupid.”
- 3y ago
- doublerabbit 3y agoThere could be worse.. Jimmy Savile here in the UK. /shudders
- esafak 3y agoJim'll "fix" it!
- jjulius 3y agoHave you ever considered learning about Mr. Rogers and what made him the way that he was? There's extensive documentation about how his childhood experiences basically shaped him into the person that he became. I'd wager it would perhaps alter your viewpoint a bit if you were to understand the "why" behind Fred.
- zwieback 3y agoYeah, I've seen a few things and listened to the Fresh Air interview way back when.
- mlyle 3y agoI loved Fred Rogers as a kid, and I am still in awe of everything he did. I can also understand how someone could find the direct, intense way he communicated with the camera uncomfortably intimate and offputting (even though it was an important part of his success). That's OK.
- toast0 3y agoI mean, I also found him creepy, so I don't think zwieback is that unusual. Like who is this guy who always wanted to have a neighbor just like me. and always wanted to live in a neighborhood with me. And with all the eye contact, it doesn't feel like a hypothetical you, it feels like me. Stranger danger signs. I mean, watch this episode[1], and tell me that opening monologue doesn't feel creepy? When I was young, this show felt a lot different than some of other shows in terms of speaking to the audience directly so much. Plus, it didn't have a cool pinball animation, I'd rather watch Sesame Street and learn my numbers, thanks ;) [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yujaPRM1PQo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yujaPRM1PQo
- timschmidt 3y agoStatistically, strangers were never the danger they were presented as. Most terrible things which happen to children happen at the hands of friends or family.
- lupire 3y agoIt's not for everyone. Mr Rogers was for children who needed attention from a caring adult but didn't have it. He was the original parasocial relationship, but he was relentlessly focused on making it a healthy and rewarding experience for children who had the television as a babysitter.
- gjvc 3y agofor children who had the television as a babysitter and that's the difference, as I think he explains in his statement to the Senate Subcommitte on Communications in 1969 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKy7ljRr0AA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKy7ljRr0AA
- wharvle 3y agoIt might be the very-long takes without cuts (it’s nuts, he does the jacket-to-cardigan and oxfords-to-loafers getting-home routine and launches straight into his first segment all as one shot in at least most episodes, the craft and skill on display is really impressive) plus lots of looking straight at the camera, which are intended to avoid confusion (people aren’t born understanding the “language” of film editing) and make kids feel like he’s addressing them personally. Some folks find that kind of direct attention uncomfortable, and the avoidance of film/tv editing artifice might make it feel even more so.
- aklemm 3y agoMister Rogers exhibits the most radical interpersonal philosophy I've ever witnessed: he mastered taking everyone for who they are. It's the most profound kindness I've ever seen practiced as a way of being. So, yeah, it's a little uncomfortable.