I was a lifeguard at a public swimming pool in Cleveland, Ohio in 1967. As a 16 year old white female, I rode the city bus to work for 2 weeks. I was the only white person for miles. I liked it there and helped teach swimming lessons. A supervisor came to check on the pool and, when he saw me, he pulled me aside and asked me what I was doing. I explained that this was the pool I was assigned to. He said, “You are going to get killed here. Go home immediately.” My parents were so angry that I had gone there for 2 weeks and I was punished. I liked that job much more than the new pool in a white neighbourhood. Racism is ignorance personified.
If I may nerd tangent... there's a bit from Kill Six Billion Demons (several, actually) that I think about a lot:
“The most magnificent of weapons is one that is offered out of self love. Grasp the nonshape. Make the mirror strike.
Would you take another’s weapon as your own? First answer: would you take another’s heart as your own?
The sword that cleaves the horizon must be swung from the center of your chest.”
-Prim’s Way of Gentleness, scroll 44
"To become hard and brittle throughout is easy, and often mistaken for strength. But to cultivate a tender heart and remain soft to the core- there is no more difficult task in all the Wheel"
You are such an inspiration. You always use your talent and your gift to make the world a better place. Your recognition of Mr. Rogers’ positive impact to people is so powerful because you have the same positive, powerful force shining through you.
You are unique and special and worthy of love and so is everyone else, is a political statement. The sort a 1st century rabbi who told stories about how a people group his people group hated could also be kind, compassionate, and good people.
Yet, I would bet that she doesn't think Jesus was political either.
Mr. Rogers was kind.
There is a dearth of kindness in the world.
A lot of nice people, people who smile sweetly even as they do things or say things that hurt other people and demean them.
Not nearly as many kind people who spend their lives lifting others up, reminding them that they are loved and special.
I think I might cry.
How better the world would be if more people were like Fred Rogers and fewer were like Fred Phelps.
A brief personal story about Fred Rogers. My two children (now grown adults) loved Fred Rogers. My son Daniel (now 40) was about six years old when he was having a bad day. My wife suggested that he write a letter to Mr. Rogers. It was a typical child’s letter, nothing especially unique. We mailed it to his tv studio in Pittsburgh.
We received a return envelope from Pittsburgh about three weeks later. It included a photo of Mr. Rogers and some of the cast. But it also included a letter from him. And it wasn’t a form letter; it included specific references to Daniel’s letter!
I realized that he must have received hundreds (?) of letters like Daniel’s every week. And Daniel’s letter was not exceptional. That meant he was responding to all of the letters in this way.
I was so impressed that I called the tv studio in Pittsburgh the next day. I asked to speak with him and was connected to his assistant. I explained why I was calling and how overwhelmed I was that he would take the time to personally respond to my son’s letter. She answered by saying that Fred Rogers felt that the most important part of his job was to answer each one of the letters he received. He wanted every child to realize that he was a real person, not just a figure on a television screen.
Daniel has the letter framed. It’s on the wall in his den.
I don't think it was quite so stark a difference yet. In the South, many segregationists were still Democrats because of ancestral links, and in the North, many moderates/even liberals on certain issues were Republicans.
Back in Eisenhower's day the GOP the GOP was for civil rights and there were many black republicans. My grandfather was one here in Georgia and was very active in the party. My father remained a black republican until McCain selected Palin. He voted for Obama and gave money to Bernie. He said that he didn't leave his party - the GOP left him. Oh and Pop Pop hated Trump.
Officer Clemmons was your actual neighbor? That is impossibly cool and a great trump card (not that one) in the degree of separation from fame game.
As for "My father" McCain, the mental gymnastics are no different than their distortion of Christianity. Taking a utopian socialist and turning him into a justification for oppression is the basis of their world-view. Empathy, kindness, and love for all are not things that they can comprehend.
Here I was thinking it was cool that Bo Jackson was a friend's next door neighbor and I'd always see him mowing his lawn and playing catch with his kids!
Hey when you represent the unreconstructed, you don't have to know anything about anything. It's fine to just retreat into the convenience of fantasy where due to your family's privilege, you didn't have to worry your pretty little mind about anything. You got to hear the Rudyard Kipling-esque "just so" opinions about the world and that was all good.
I guess this is the first time I've even thought about this stuffy brat this year...maybe in a year, so that's something.
Yes when I read her statements about Mr Rogers, I said that she obviously missed the message. That poor child’s been either pretty dense or a bully all her life. I find that a quite existence.
I cannot see how that is living your best life, afraid of everything and full of hate. That shit ages you.
I suppose the children's entertainer more congenial to MAGA was Soupy Sales who convinced children to take their parents' money and mail it to him.
OMG “secret daughter” OMG chef’s kiss!
Thank you Steve for reminding us of Mr.Rogers’s life, wisdom & legacy.
In 1969 there were still people who saw Republicans as the party of Lincoln.
I was a lifeguard at a public swimming pool in Cleveland, Ohio in 1967. As a 16 year old white female, I rode the city bus to work for 2 weeks. I was the only white person for miles. I liked it there and helped teach swimming lessons. A supervisor came to check on the pool and, when he saw me, he pulled me aside and asked me what I was doing. I explained that this was the pool I was assigned to. He said, “You are going to get killed here. Go home immediately.” My parents were so angry that I had gone there for 2 weeks and I was punished. I liked that job much more than the new pool in a white neighbourhood. Racism is ignorance personified.
If I may nerd tangent... there's a bit from Kill Six Billion Demons (several, actually) that I think about a lot:
“The most magnificent of weapons is one that is offered out of self love. Grasp the nonshape. Make the mirror strike.
Would you take another’s weapon as your own? First answer: would you take another’s heart as your own?
The sword that cleaves the horizon must be swung from the center of your chest.”
-Prim’s Way of Gentleness, scroll 44
"To become hard and brittle throughout is easy, and often mistaken for strength. But to cultivate a tender heart and remain soft to the core- there is no more difficult task in all the Wheel"
Maybe Alex Pretti was one of the kids watching Mr Rogers tell them when in distress “ Look for the helpers”
This weekend Alex Pretti lost his life being a helper
All we can do is look to Alex Pretti’s example as our inspiration
You are such an inspiration. You always use your talent and your gift to make the world a better place. Your recognition of Mr. Rogers’ positive impact to people is so powerful because you have the same positive, powerful force shining through you.
Thanks so much!
You are unique and special and worthy of love and so is everyone else, is a political statement. The sort a 1st century rabbi who told stories about how a people group his people group hated could also be kind, compassionate, and good people.
Yet, I would bet that she doesn't think Jesus was political either.
Mr. Rogers was kind.
There is a dearth of kindness in the world.
A lot of nice people, people who smile sweetly even as they do things or say things that hurt other people and demean them.
Not nearly as many kind people who spend their lives lifting others up, reminding them that they are loved and special.
I think I might cry.
How better the world would be if more people were like Fred Rogers and fewer were like Fred Phelps.
A brief personal story about Fred Rogers. My two children (now grown adults) loved Fred Rogers. My son Daniel (now 40) was about six years old when he was having a bad day. My wife suggested that he write a letter to Mr. Rogers. It was a typical child’s letter, nothing especially unique. We mailed it to his tv studio in Pittsburgh.
We received a return envelope from Pittsburgh about three weeks later. It included a photo of Mr. Rogers and some of the cast. But it also included a letter from him. And it wasn’t a form letter; it included specific references to Daniel’s letter!
I realized that he must have received hundreds (?) of letters like Daniel’s every week. And Daniel’s letter was not exceptional. That meant he was responding to all of the letters in this way.
I was so impressed that I called the tv studio in Pittsburgh the next day. I asked to speak with him and was connected to his assistant. I explained why I was calling and how overwhelmed I was that he would take the time to personally respond to my son’s letter. She answered by saying that Fred Rogers felt that the most important part of his job was to answer each one of the letters he received. He wanted every child to realize that he was a real person, not just a figure on a television screen.
Daniel has the letter framed. It’s on the wall in his den.
Did he ever explain why he was a republican? By 1965 it was pretty fucking clear which side of the Civil Rights divide the republicans were on.
I don't think it was quite so stark a difference yet. In the South, many segregationists were still Democrats because of ancestral links, and in the North, many moderates/even liberals on certain issues were Republicans.
Back in Eisenhower's day the GOP the GOP was for civil rights and there were many black republicans. My grandfather was one here in Georgia and was very active in the party. My father remained a black republican until McCain selected Palin. He voted for Obama and gave money to Bernie. He said that he didn't leave his party - the GOP left him. Oh and Pop Pop hated Trump.
The wedge strategy was still in the cradle so to speak. That scans
Officer Clemmons was your actual neighbor? That is impossibly cool and a great trump card (not that one) in the degree of separation from fame game.
As for "My father" McCain, the mental gymnastics are no different than their distortion of Christianity. Taking a utopian socialist and turning him into a justification for oppression is the basis of their world-view. Empathy, kindness, and love for all are not things that they can comprehend.
Yes! Whenever I was home during the day, I could sometimes hear his operatic voice as he rehearsed.
Here I was thinking it was cool that Bo Jackson was a friend's next door neighbor and I'd always see him mowing his lawn and playing catch with his kids!
This is the smallest nit to pick amid (waves arms around), but don't you just hate that even the term "trump card" has been tainted?
As I was typing it, I cringed.
Excellent read, thank you. Much said here both explicitly and implicitly, all shining a spotlight on the myopic beliefs of MAGA
Hey when you represent the unreconstructed, you don't have to know anything about anything. It's fine to just retreat into the convenience of fantasy where due to your family's privilege, you didn't have to worry your pretty little mind about anything. You got to hear the Rudyard Kipling-esque "just so" opinions about the world and that was all good.
I guess this is the first time I've even thought about this stuffy brat this year...maybe in a year, so that's something.
I liked it better when Divine was the only person who did her make up like Divine. Meghan is harshing the John Waters brand bigly
OMG now I can't unsee it.
Yes when I read her statements about Mr Rogers, I said that she obviously missed the message. That poor child’s been either pretty dense or a bully all her life. I find that a quite existence.
I cannot see how that is living your best life, afraid of everything and full of hate. That shit ages you.
I don’t get the title. Why “secret daughter”? Otherwise I liked this, good read
The joke is that she never goes a minute without bring up her relation to her father.
Hahaha! I didn’t get it either, thanks!
Aha. Thank you.