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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Mr. Rogers Goes to Washington

Posted by on Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 1:04 PM

GOOD Magazine just posted this amazing video of Mr. Rogers going to Congress and single-handedly convincing the government not to cut funding to PBS.

He's totally my hero.

 

Comments (23) RSS

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1
oh god, i love him...
Posted by Stephanie on December 16, 2008 at 1:16 PM
2
Score one for the Sweater!

Mr. Rogers saved a lot more than just children.
Posted by Will in Seattle on December 16, 2008 at 1:18 PM
3
Wow. That choked me up.
Posted by mint chocolate chip on December 16, 2008 at 1:20 PM
4
I know this may sound amazingly callous- and I must preface this to say that yes, Mr. Rogers is fucking AWESOME- but he is the SLOOOOOOOWEST, dullest speaker I have EVER heard. If you played this clip for me tonight around 11pm I would immediately fall into a coma that only the cartoons he seemingly dislikes could wake me. At full volume with the speakers in my ears.

I mean really. Wow. I almost fell asleep at my desk listening to him speak.
Posted by Jonny Liverwerst on December 16, 2008 at 1:29 PM
5
Mr. Rogers and Bob Ross...True American heroes!
Posted by muggims on December 16, 2008 at 1:32 PM
6
Brought some tears to my eyes.
Posted by clearlyhere on December 16, 2008 at 1:39 PM
7
I got to meet him at Portland Airport as a little tyke. What a great dude!
Posted by beck on December 16, 2008 at 1:42 PM
8
He touched me in an inappropriate fashion when I was 5 years old...

Opps, sorry, wasn't supposed to talk about that
Posted by Reality Check on December 16, 2008 at 1:53 PM
9
@4:

He may be slow, but he still inspires, as the senator attests. He's not Joe Lieberman slow where you want to blow your brains out after the third syllable. Yeah, he takes a bit to get to the point, but the point is worth it.
Posted by Banna on December 16, 2008 at 1:57 PM
10
Mr. Rogers was a great guy. There is a profile of him that I read once that really sealed the deal for me but I can't find it. Anybody care to help with their google-fu?
Posted by Sir Learnsalot on December 16, 2008 at 1:57 PM
11
In Mr. Rogers' day, a lot of media was slower than it is now. I personally find it hard to watch old cartoons from the seventies-early eighties period because the action and dialogue is so much slower paced than what I've been conditioned to expect in more recent years. But I think in the context of the media of his time his pace wasn't as much of an abberation as it seems like in retrospect.
Posted by oljb on December 16, 2008 at 2:13 PM
12
A college friend's grandma lived across the street from Mr. Rogers, the college friend once announced. Then he said he didn't want to hear anything against Mr. Rogers, ever. Of course we assumed he was kidding, but he wasn't. Later, he became a monk.
Posted by Amelia on December 16, 2008 at 2:14 PM
13
My heart will remain broken until that Little Red Trolley comes 'round the bend to take me off to the Land of Make-Believe. But this lil video helps.
Posted by Andy Niable on December 16, 2008 at 2:42 PM
14
Mr Rogers was an interesting person; my experiences with him are different from the way he looks in this video;
I worked as a nurse at Children's hospital of Pittsburgh; I have watched Mr Rogers come to see a patient who's family had been able to arrange it, and then walk by an entire playroom of children all calling "Mr. Rogers, Mr; Rogers" and not glance at any of them.
I realize the guy never got to NOT be Mr. Rogers... but we nurses and the Play therapy folks had to pick up the pieces of a whole room of kids crying because Mr Rogers wouldnt talk to them.
Posted by Womyn2me on December 16, 2008 at 2:52 PM
15
PS -- nicest people I met as a result of working at a kids hospital?
1. Captain Kangaroo. (the nurses were more impressed than the kids, I dont think they knew who he was... I got a pingpong ball)
2. The midget lady from Poltergist was awesome....
Posted by Womyn2me on December 16, 2008 at 2:55 PM
16
"Awright, Rogehs, you got the floah." Hilarious. But I truly think that if every "Christian" acted like Mr. Rogers, there would be a lot more Christians. AND he worked with Canada. What a diplomat.
Posted by P to the J on December 16, 2008 at 3:34 PM
17
And @8, I'm sure you were a rotten little bastard, so you deserved it.
Posted by P to the J on December 16, 2008 at 3:35 PM
18
WHERE IS OUR NEW MR. ROGERS?!?!
Posted by tuesday on December 16, 2008 at 4:12 PM
19
So they could make a great program for $6K. Why did we need to pay them $20M?
Posted by David Wright on December 16, 2008 at 4:21 PM
20
@ 19

PBS != a single episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood
Posted by anonymous on December 16, 2008 at 4:25 PM
21
I was too old for Mr. Rogers when he was first on television. But oh my, I adored watching him with my daughter when she was between the ages of 2 and 3. And then, because he was so perfect, and complete, and wonderful (and had Yo Yo Ma and the Marsalis family on and lots of other musicians and artists), you couldn't really surpass what he did. So we just pretty much stopped watching television after that.
Posted by Sarah on December 16, 2008 at 7:18 PM
22
Mr. Rogers was and remains the best of what television can be - not to mention humanity.
Posted by flo on December 16, 2008 at 8:49 PM
23
Ouch. Bullseye. You got me dead center.
Posted by misterlinguister on December 22, 2008 at 8:15 PM

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