I think a lot of us took for granted the idea that Mr. Rogers simply wore a sweater on his show each and every show he put on. We didn’t think much of it since it was just considered to be another part of the show, something he did as a part of his entrance that we had to get through in order to get to the main part of the episode. Learning that every sweater he wore seems to bring a new light to the show that makes it a lot more personal and a lot more meaningful. It was an homage to his mother in many ways that allowed him to show how much he cared and possibly missed her.
Mr. Rogers was among the few entertainers that truly made a difference back in his day when it came to educating children. Even when he had to deal with insane amounts of controversy and rumors that were never found to be true he was still one of the greatest entertainers to ever find his way into the business of entertaining kids.
They were all knitted by his mother throughout the years since she knitted one for everyone in her family, and she would always knit one with a zipper down the front for Mr. Rogers since that was what he liked. That’s a special kind of gift and even better, it’s a personalized thing that lends a bit of a comforting touch that can’t be replaced. Mr. Rogers had a long and successful career and did a lot for TV. He was one of the favorite show hosts for a lot of years but somehow when it came time for the 90’s everything got mixed up and those that were actually trying to do some good got made fun of and maligned without mercy.
Many began to see Mr. Rogers as unnatural and even pedophilic in a way, which is pretty sad since he did more for children’s programming than a lot of people. Perhaps the biggest problem was that the generations that had grown up watching him no longer spoke up for him, deciding instead to cling to the attitude era and vilify him for something that was unproven and quite malicious. Some people parodied Mr. Rogers just to be funny and edgy, but others truly thought that there was something wrong with at kids show that glorified an older man talking to and interacting with children. In fact the internet began to manufacture lies about Mr. Rogers the moment it was somehow deemed a good idea, and eventually Mr. Rogers was said to have a violent and criminal past that involved child molestation.
That’s pretty low, attacking a man that’s done nothing but entertain kids and devote his life to children’s programming for so long. Thankfully the truth held out and nothing ever came of these false allegations, leaving Mr. Rogers’ reputation untarnished and intact until the end of his days.
Anytime an icon rises up it seems there will be people that want to destroy them. In this case the good guy actually was the good guy.
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