Non Sequiturs

space-pioneer:

Usually when people do that “you’re special” crap I tend to roll my eyes.

But when Mister Rogers said it…

That’s because Mister Rogers meant it.

That’s because Mister Rogers meant it.

That’s because Mister Rogers meant it.

That’s because Mister Rogers meant it.

I remember Mr. Rogers from when I was a little kid, but my favourite memory of him was actually from the week after the World Trade Centre was destroyed in 2001. We were tuned to the news at work every day (like everyone else on the continent), and one of the rare stories that they broke away from the rescue attempts to cover was the news that Ernie Coombs, Mr. Dressup, had passed away.

Fred Rogers was asked to say a few words about him, and what he said was that Coombs’ show lasted as long as it did because kids learn to spot a phony very early on. A lot of kids’ shows, particularly the advertising-driven ones, are completely contemptuous of their audience, which they target simply because they assume kids are less media-savvy at a young age. Kids pick up on that pretty quick and stay loyal to people who will treat them with respect and not patronize them.

And of course to maintain the affection of your old audience after they’ve grown old enough to look at what you do with a more critical eye is really difficult to do. It says a lot about Ernie Coombs that anybody bothered covering his passing on September 18, 2001 of all days, and it says a lot about Fred Rogers that he was practically the first person they went to to say something.

Yummy!

(via littlerunningmonster)