Mr. Rogers Talks to the US Senate
Yes, feelings are mentionable, and they are manageable.
posted by 
ing at 9:33 PM
Sunday, June 17, 2007
About Me
- Name: ing
- Location: Berkeley, California, United States
In each eye there is an apple/ Buried there before the eye/ And out of sockets come the branches/ And from the branches dangle I ❦ Will Oldham, “God’s Small Song”
Previous Posts
- Advice
- Gin.
- Lexington, Kentucky
- Happy Mother's Day, Mofos.
- Things I Haven't Been Asked To Do
- In half an hour,
- You May Be Weary
- Okay, okay, okay,
- Work,
- The First Day At My New Job
Visit BUST
23 Comments:
My word, could he talk any slower?
4:09 AM
Mr. Rogers always creeps me out, but I always liked what he had to say. ...same is true watching this clip. He kicks ass, but worries me as he does it.
6:38 AM
Cool pic, smart clip.
purplesimon out...
10:28 AM
On MAY DAY 1969!
His budget is a little more than what my mother wrangled loose from my dad in their divorce. Funny about love and feelings being "it" when Roger's is asking for a committment '$$' but it's going to rain, rain, rain here finally.
whew.
makes me want to smoke.
no!
-gina+bb
xoxoxoxxo
qfsbuga says my word verifica!
2:07 PM
Jane:
I agree, Fred Rogers spoke slowly, methodically, and carefully. I guess he had many other quirks. When I was a kid I preferred Sesame Street, with all its energy. And I did not like that puppet, Lady Elaine, with her drunkard's complexion and her bossiness.
As an adult, though, I find his words so amazing — if I understand this correctly, not only did he prevent the funding for PBS from being cut in half (Nixon's directive), he more than doubled it with one sic-minute speech. I believe he was an extremely good person who wanted every child to feel that they were safe, and that they were special, and that there were healthy ways to express all sorts of feelings, even anger.
And maybe times have changed. Maybe we're accustomed to quicker, shorter, more fractured statements. But I also appreciate that it takes time to speak thoughtfully, truthfully, and with deep sincerity.
______________
Matty:
I think we all worry a little about adults who profess to care deeply and passionately about children, especially when they seem a bit eccentric. It's a shame, because I honestly believe Fred Rogers meant it, meant it, meant it. And I imagine you heard about the protesters at his service. THEY creep me out. They said that because Fred Rogers was a minister, he should have preached something that went against the very foundation of his message because I guess they believed "neighborliness" can only be a Christian concept if certain neighbors are banished from the 'hood.
Don't worry! I think it's all right! And if Mr. Rogers had been my grandfather or uncle and he spoke to me in that way in real life, I would have adored him. I wonder if the creepiness stems (partly) from the notion that we simply do not believe that children are worthy of deep down respect, even though they may not have learned what we think of as the cruel lessons life teaches us. But really, childhood is or can be the most insecure, frightening time of our lives because as children we're not yet equipped to fend for ourselves. It's a place where the world doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and fear of monsters, the dark, etc. might stem from a very understandable sense of insecurity because children have so little personal power.
______________
Purps:
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I have this feeling (or maybe it's just me) that for writers it's a constant struggle to be true. It's so much easier to write about things we think are funny or that piss us off than it is to say what is true (with a capital T). I wonder if we train ourselves to reject our vulnerabilities, and in the long process we get super rusty in our ability to express love?
______________
Ginab:
Well, I think he wanted the budget in order that he could get across a message of love. Fred Rogers hated television, but in the medium he saw a way to counteract its evils. (I'm getting my info. from Wikipedia.) He quit NBC because he believed that the commercials and what they were selling were a barrier to the educational value of the medium. That's pretty great.
You need rain, from what I hear, m'dear. We have fog and wind and just enough sunshine in between to tantalize. Yesterday was a perfect day, in terms of the weather. In other ways, it was just plain weird.
________________
6:39 PM
Without question, Rogers saved PBS and changed the face of that future! And, I do believe he was a good man.
He creeps me out because of his manner of speech. ...and, this sense of nervousness I always get when I see him communicating.
I think my fear and distrust of his 'style' comes from what I survived. Sad, that. But, it can be easy to mistrust good and well-intentioned. Which is quite sad.
But, I agree. Children deserve respect. They deserve safety and stability.
We all deserve love.
7:59 PM
I watched the clip, liked it and then read a short bio on him, he had an interesting childhood which illuminates the vague sketch of his personality that is foreign to all of us, was he a decent person? Dang, that would be cool if there really are heroes he would be at the top of the list, after reading his wikipedia bio for what that is worth, he may have been the real thing. I have never heard a nasty rumor about the man who I never watched other than when I was scanning channels, but I think he walked the line. His wife should have advised him about his sweater and hanging it on a hook habit.
I am a huge fan of the man that does not have dirt under his rug, because Dog knows it is tough not to have anything to hide, did he sing castrato? I guess I do not know, but he is like a movie Jimmy Stewart type idealist and if he was half of what he projected well then he was ten times the man I am, errr more than that but math is not one of my strong points.
10:14 PM
wow, how sweet!
4:42 AM
I did not see any of his shows but have heard of him. He sounds sincere, heartfelt; I like him. The $20mill obviously didn't allow this to travel to Europe, and I do not know what I would have made of him as a child. I was raised on other US exports, perhaps the ones he seems concerned with, but to tell you the truth, I loved Hong Kong Phooey (racist no doubt in today's PC world), but I still passed my exams, care deeply about all peoples, races, creeds, orientations, and abhor violence. The Waltons helped too; next best thing to going to Mass.
And I was lucky enough also to be in the generation that watched Scooby Doo before the show went 'pear-shaped' with the introduction of Scrappy Doo. How lucky was that?
g'night *Ing
7:34 PM
matty:
I know, and I wish I could change that, but I'm glad that you are you!
______________
Josh:
Yes, I do think he was a good person. I guess his wife decided to overlook the sweater thing, which was very kind. I've heard him sing on his show, and he had a fine, nasal tenor voice; if he was a castrato I think he would've been a soprano. He reminds me a little of David Lynch.
________________
Mone:
Ah, yes.
________________
avarahn:
As I said, I didn't really get him when I was a child, but now I see why my mother was so crazy about him. As for Scooby Doo, I always found that dog a little irritating, and the incorporation of Scrappy -- NO! Oh, and the creepy Scooby Snack, the way it so motivated the dog; the way he'd do anything for it freaked me out! Same with Cookie Monster & cookies.
Bert and Ernie were my favorites. So mismatched. Were they siblings?
10:04 PM
Totally.
And Bert & Ernie, I do not know if they were siblings, but my siblings and I often used to say to each other: "Gee, Bert!"
3:08 AM
wow, he looked so young back then, and those sideburns... Mr. Rogers was never on TV when I was a kid But I watched a lot of him with my daughter and those are good memories.
4:27 PM
tried saying hi'ya seconds ago, following a foot stomp on my floor which, given the techies below, guaranteed me a zowie CRASH.
But anywayZ,hi'ya.
and THWACK (as in big fat hug).
-ginab
7:09 PM
You know, I'm a lot like Mr. Rodgers. Only I argue for the right to access to chocolate and I speak MUCH faster as I do it. That, and I think I dress better.
...tho, if I don't stop with the chocolates I may be dressing from the LARGE shop. oy!
6:45 AM
You know here in Indy it has been a wonderful day in the neighborhood. Also please refrain from any talk or publication of any monkey images, I now have the patent on our simian friends. You all get a cut, I just need to sew up some loose ends and the world is ours, who can resist a monkey and who would have thought there were no patents? All you people who treated me well before I became a monkey patent rich person will share in the wealth. I'm pleased as punch! JW
5:04 PM
did you set fire to lake tahoe?
i heard you went to a lake.
am much worried.
ing, did you start a national tragedy? fess up!
9:08 PM
avarhn:
I got word from another source that Bert and Ernie were in no way shape or form blood relations, and that I should know by just looking at them; Bert was sort of pointy and thin and cranky, while Ernie was round and frivolous. But dang, they both had that tuft of hair and they lived in the same room and did not share a bed. Yes, they were aesthetically and philosophically opposites, and Bert had a distinct & fierce monobrow. Is that not typical of siblings, to be similar and yet worlds apart?
I imagine that one would rather be Ernie than Bert, as Ernie was the more generous of the two.
And I have to stop here, because I have to work in the morning, pr-ing a lot of people + meetings + a really exciting meet-the-author-of-an-ice-cream-cookbook-with-samples. I'll be back. I need to spend a few minutes, at least, with this, which is very good, before I go to bed for a few & then up bright and early.
11:00 PM
HereZ looking at you, kid.
-ginab
8:02 AM
Sage:
We were all young once, with long, dark sideburns, each and every one. What happened to those days and all the extra hair? I used to have a handlebar moustache, back in the day. . .
I love your new profile pic! I can't tell what it is exactly, but it looks like the spines of books, a familiar sight.
____________
ginab:
Foot stomping? I hope you were wearing clogs.
_____________
matty:
Yes, you are Mr. Rogers on speed. I love that deep-down kindness in you.
You always look thin to me, and I'm not just saying that. I don't think you see yourself as you really are.
_______________
I'm pooped again & have to go to bed. I'll get back to y'all, and jeez, I need to post a new blog soon! Garrrrrrr!
10:30 PM
Ing! You made my day as I rip apart this huge piece of chocolate cake for breakfast. ...but, I'm thinking thin!
7:47 AM
Oh, Ing. ...I just put on my way cool "Obey" t-shirt to head to the beach. I'm so not thin. I look pregnant.
(sigh)
well, me and my chocolate chip cookie are headed to the beach to further contemplate "thin"
12:50 PM
Matty, you made my day, too, and I'm so relieved. I hope you stay in SF for a bit longer!!!! But I want you to be happy and thin. Happy first, and thin second, if that's what you want.
__________
Hiya back, ginab, darlin'.
7:13 PM
what happened to all the hair... there's a reason I have a hat collection.
As for my "old" blogger profile pic, it was a quilt of photos of the spines of books from my library. The "full sized" version was in my blog on April 3.
9:51 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home