Fox News Calls Mr. Rogers An Evil Man

Mr. Rogers The Downfall Of America

Little did I know, Mr. Rogers was an evil man. By telling children they’re special just for being who they are, he helped create this generation of worthless, lazy socialists who think they’re entitled to health care… at least according to Fox News.

They actually use the word “evil” to describe Mr. Rogers and criticize him for his “optimistic message where everyone was special even if they didn’t deserve it”, which is “ruining kids with a sense of entitlement.” Then one of them starts babbling about how children should go back to churning butter and making their own sweaters. Fox’s Brian Kilmeade said “that man unintentionally did a whole generation or two a disservice.” Only on Fox could a man who spent his life dedicated to public service and education be blamed for ruining generations of Americans.

And if you are interested in the ‘study’ done by the LSU professor referenced when Fox News calls Mr. Rogers an evil man, it’s available at the Wall Street Journal: Blame It on Mr. Rogers: Why Young Adults Feel So Entitled.

Email

0
From The PBH NetworkHot On The Web
  1. Absurd says:

    This is completely absurd. You are doing your cause (whatever it may be) a great disservice by treating this seriously. Who are you trying to fool? You quote Brian Kilmeade…Brian Kilmeade!?? This was a tounge-in-cheek response to a seriously stupid study. You want to kill the messenger who only showed you how stupid some people can be. You should be ripping on the actual thing THEY were ripping on. Guess I don’t need to check this site for “news” and information anymore. How stupid.

  2. Monster says:

    Even if it it supposedly “tongue-in-cheek” (which I doubt…I think the sarcasm people are seeing are the reporters shamelessly over-acting to make people listen), they know damn well that their target audience WILL take it seriously.

    Also, Mr. Rogers’ legacy is heroic. It’s a shame that none of them apparently watched him, or else maybe they wouldn’t work at FOX and would be able to sleep at night.

  3. Matt says:

    This is a lame excuse to blame a man who tried to do good things. Sad days.

  4. Matt says:

    are you kidding me, how is this even possible, Mr. Rogers didn’t do anything to kids, as a high school student i can tell you that i do not ever, ever think of Mr rogers or him saying your special the you are. No he did not corrupt our minds, half the kids don’t even remember him. If someone told me i had to work hard to get far in life when i was 6, i wouldn’t remember that either. Seriously stop wasting your time with stupid shit like this and go report some real news.

  5. Ray Kremer says:

    Watch the video. The Fox anchors are mocking the LSU professor. The mention of Mr. Rogers being an evil evil man is sarcasm. But you folks just want your kneejerk ZOMG FOX IS THE DEVIL.

  6. Joe says:

    This video is actually two years old. Little late to the party?

  7. konkrypton says:

    To call Fred Rogers, a man who devoted his entire life to educating children, evil is not just absurd, it’s mean-spirited and downright evil. Do these right-wingnuts have any clue about reality?

  8. Isaac says:

    Do you suppose they’re retarded?

  9. Anonymous says:

    hahahahaha wtf?

  10. lambsy says:

    wrong generation dipshits.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Way to generalize a whole generation that Fox is obviously out of touch with. Speaking of entitlement, how about blaming PARENTING for a “sense of entitlement”? Anything to keep people watching, eh? Children are special. Fuck your weird perspective that television is some magical box where we get out feelings from.

  12. ryan says:

    I suppose the other side of the argument is that it gives kids a sense of worth and just might give them the encouragement to do great things. I don’t see how calling a child “special” somehow translates to a sense of entitlement later in life. I don’t like Fox and friends but they weren’t really calling him evil either. They were being hyperbolic and cheeky.

  13. Carol Brown says:

    This absolutely stinks. Mr. Rogers is NOT to blame. Blame government control and poor teaching in schools. Both parents working, music, video games and a number of other things but NOT Mr. Rogers. I don’t like Spock either but he’s not on the same level. My 3 children were raised on Mr. Rogers and do NOT have the entitlement mentality.

  14. So Much Wit says:

    […] ‘Fox News Calls Mr. Rogers Evil’. Alternative headline: ‘Fox News staffed by sad, cynical human beings’. […]

  15. Nate says:

    Fox went on to blame Bozo the Clown for “all the kids and their baggy pants” and Share-a-lot the Care Bear for his “Socialist agenda based on redistribution of wealth”.

    After the break… Get off my lawn!!

  16. Anonymous says:

    I think it’s hilarious you guys soak up this kool-aid. Number one, she was being sarcastic when she said Mr. Rogers was evil. Number two, the prof from Louisiana State University is saying that Mr. Rogers message is detrimental. Number three, they’re doing what any media people do best: play it up. Whether they’re working CNN, Fox News, or MSNBC makes little difference; it’s they’re job to get peoples attention. Personally I think the thought that Mr. Rogers is mean or “evil” or whatever is laughable and I actually laughed when I heard it because it’s so ridiculous. Why do you guys even CARE about this anyways? This should be beneath all of you.

  17. O RLY says:

    In case you guys couldn’t tell, she was using “evil, evil man” in a bout of sarcasm. Get over yourselves.

    I liked Mister Rogers, and I think he was a good man and may God rest his soul. But the trio make a point: if you’re constantly buttering up to your child and telling them that they win even if they lose, giving them a trophy for making 18th place, and all around making them feel ENTITLED to EVERYTHING, then yes, they are going to grow up with the bogus idea that they deserve the best by doing nothing to show for it.

    If you cheer your child on and tell them that, yes, they did lose the race, but if you work hard and try again, you may reach a place where you become a great success.

    There’s a difference.

    Whether or not Mr. Rogers preached the former or the latter, I can’t say. I don’t remember much of the content.

  18. Ekko State says:

    Oh? Are fear mongering types shirking their responsibilities to their children again? Never would have expected to see Mr. Rogers on the chopping block, but I guess people are running out of things to blame other than themselves. Because, it can’t be their own fault their kids are the way they are. I grew up with this guy, and I take offense to them saying I lived a corrupted youth because of his message. Look out Mr. Dress Up, your next!

  19. […] Fox News Calls Mr. Rogers “An Evil, Evil Man” […]

  20. Chris Oakley says:

    If this was a joke, it suggests an incredibly warped sense of humor.

  21. Tyoria says:

    Does this so-called study actually prove that this generation behaves in a fashion more entitled than the previous one, or is it just taken as an article of faith? The fact that it’s not even considered worth mentioning makes me think it’s the latter, which makes this a case of… contemporary adults complaining that the kids of today are a bunch of hoodlums. Talk about self-parody! Is there anything more obnoxious and hypocritical than a bunch of baby boomers and gen-xers sitting around wagging their fingers at the kids of today for taking things for granted and not respecting their elders?

  22. Renee Carlson says:

    It’s good to see that Mr. Rogers had our best interests in mind back when I watched. Very interesting take on his words…

    As for Fox News, I find it more refreshing and balanced than any other network. This country is getting much too PC. Using the word “retarded” is not half as bad as what SCHOOLS and TEACHERS call children with special needs! They openly call these children “Speds” which sounds much worse than retarded in my book.

  23. B, Edwards says:

    Just because some damn fool professor made a deduction that doesnt mean it has any validity at all.
    If that professor disputes Mr. Rogers’ word then he disputes God. God said
    “We are fearfully and wonderfully made.” because HE made us.

    I suppose it is now wrong to hug and kiss your babies when they are born because they have done
    NOTHING to deserve this show of affection. They have to EARN it.

    I just wish people would not give every fool that comes down the pike validity. If only takes a moments
    thought to put LIE to that professor’s statement

  24. Anonymous says:

    that’s fucking retarded

  25. […] News Calls Mr. Rogers Evil Fox News Calls Mr. Rogers An Evil Man | Prose Before Hos Quote: Little did I know, Mr. Rogers was an evil man. By telling children they’re special […]

  26. Stupid conservatives says:

    Leave it to faux news and their tea party to come up with this crap, when will America get rid of these conservatives and start an age of liberal prosperity.
    Faux news you’re entire network is pathetic.

  27. Daniel Wittler says:

    Are you kidding me. Blaming Mr. Rogers. Where is this country going. Its like the controversy over taking Ronald McDonalds out of McDonalds. Come on, Ronald isn’t forcing the burgers down your throat. Mr. Rogers was a good man. I grew up with him. And I knew what he meant about being ‘special’.

  28. Nate says:

    Forget the fact that it’s scientifically proven that telling kids they are special for no reason at all is a determent to their mental stability. No, Fox is evil cause they’re right wing. Fuck anyone who doesn’t agree with me [/ignorance]

  29. Anonymous says:

    Fox News thinks everyone is a Socialist. Maybe we shouldn’t reward children so easily and yes, maybe doing so has created a generation of lazy people who don’t try very hard at anything and are motivated by instant gratification. However, it is just simplistic and ignorant to blame this ills of a society on the host of a children’s TV show or any one person. Who said this was ever news anyway? Maybe Fox News should do what it’s supposed to do and report the actual news….oh I forgot…they don’t or never really did that anyway.

  30. Anonymous says:

    Wow these people from Fox News are idiots.

  31. Martin Fitch says:

    Yeah. Kids should be told everyday: “You aren’t anything special. You’re just a damned kid. Kids aren’t important. Only adults are important. And not even most adults are important. Just the ones that make money! So right now you’re a loser! You’d better hope you grow up to be rich, otherwise I won’t be proud of your sorry ass!”

    What was stupid Mr. Rogers thinking anyway?

  32. Dave says:

    Everyone is special until proven otherwise in the court of life. Can you people seriously imply that a man telling kids they’re special is a negative and the all standing reason as to why a generation acts the way it does? I’m part of that generation, and I’ll tell you from my own perspective how much your statments seem like garbage to me. I watched Mr. Rogers until I was maybe five years old, maybe six, but in truth, I don’t even know. If I can’t even remember until what age I watched Mr. Rogers, who on this planet could have the gaw to tell me that my morality and views were founded by it? Perhaps a professor did have some evidence towards this outcome in hisstudy, but from what pool of people did he base this experiment on? I didn’t hear any actual numbers crunched in that report, or even a control to the experiment. Oh wait, I get it, maybe it’s just Fox News getting a tidbit of information, plugging their ears for the rest of it going ‘nanana’ so that they can take what little they know out of context and point a finger at something for the sheer shock value just to get attention. I think most people grow out of that by age fourteen, and the ones who don’t usually end up in trouble with the law, outcast, homeless, or in this case, work for Fox News I guess.

    In rebutle to this whole image of “Evil Rogers”; and for the sake of a man who wanted to do nothing but provide an environment for learning which kids could enjoy I pose these issues to you. If the mere act of telling kids they’re special is enough to incite an entire generation to feel arrogant, and demand overly fair treatment with little to no effort, then what should things like high school sports and clubs tell us about life? In our day and age, if you want to be a high school football player, you’re in, regardless of ability. Granted you may only be junior varsity, but I’ve heard of programs which will even offer a letterman’s jacket for a JV player. Go even younger, and we have baseball programs, in whichas long as mom and dad fork over the cash, the kid can play, and even if the team loses every single game for the entire season, they get a trophy and a pizza party at the end of the season. I’m not saying that these things are wrong, as kids we need to be inspired to achieve our dreams, before comming into the age when those who’ve become consumed by cynicism and floundering hopes get ahold of our ideals and begin to drag us down.

    In the end, yes, we are all special. The issue comes when it comes time for us to live up to our potential whether or not we sink or swim. That’s on us, and the entire colage of experiences and influences we’ve had in our lives thus far; and I’d wager that these events as young adults which prompt ideas that we can always get at least something for nothing, be it in sports, clubs or whatever, are going to echo much louder in our minds than a man on the television we saw when we were still using sippy cups and velcro shoes. But, as far as anybody reading this and giving a damn, I know it probably won’t happen, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if something that benefited Fox News’ image were to arise with this exact same issue at it’s core, they’d put a posative spin on it in a hearbeat. You are the ones who are evil Fox News. A journalism program is meant to inform the population, without bias,and without an agenda. For ANYBODY that takes your programing seriously I feel pity for.

    And one last thing; isn’t a bit hipocritical to talk about a television programing destroying a generation?

  33. Jeffrey says:

    This was the dumbed report ever. I watched Mr. Rogers as a kid, and I grew up knowing that if I wanted good grades, I had to work for it? Why? BECAUSE MY PARENTS TOLD ME IF I WANTED ANYTHING IN LIFE, I HAD TO WORK FOR IT. And by the way, I AM special. But, I still work hard to get where I am.

  34. Naumadd says:

    The opinions of Fox News are regularly those of children masquerading as adults. If the quote from Mr. Rogers is correct, then I wholeheartedly agree – each human being IS special when one considers the fact your precise genetic code has never in the history of the universe existed before and, once your life is ended, will never exist again.

    Ever. The question isn’t whether one is special, the question is how can one be so special and still not believe it?

    Remembering the fact we’ve yet to find other life in the universe or even another planet suitable to human life, yeah, this planet is pretty special and the life on it pretty rare. Add to that the fact we humans seem to be the cream of the crop of intelligent beings here on Earth, that YOU are a member of the species is an incredible fortune and to be alive here and now more fortune still.

    Ignore the childish cynics. Perhaps they too will some day wake up to what they truly are, will some day believe in themselves and finally come to believe they are genuinely irreplaceable. Until then, they spit at that which they do not yet understand.

  35. John says:

    This is one of the worst examples of a post hoc ergo propter hoc argument I have ever seen. Fox news should be ashamed that this was ever aired.

  36. Allen says:

    You people are fuckin disgusting! This is what you call news? You say mister Rogers was evil all the while you spread racism and show no respect to the president of our country! You teach people to hate democrats, blacks, and anyone who don’t share your views, but mister Rogers is evil!? Sick twisted losers!

  37. christina says:

    Fox is RETARTED! Stop looking for someone to blame. People should just blame theirselfs. This show was for little kids!

    • Sean Tremcourt says:

      Maybe you should have been watching School House Rock or Sesame Street, retarded is spelled with a D not a T

  38. Patricia says:

    I think that watching Mr. Rogers was a great idea. For some children they needed this in their life to be special for they might have been abused in some way. Like being yelled at for nothing and that would make them feel bad. Maybe no one in the home would pay attention to them. Maybe there were alot of children in the family and they felt alone. Mr. Rogers was like talking to them and nobody else. Then they would be in their own little world. I watched Mr. Rogers with my children and they loved him. I would let them play make believe when they wanted to. I had four children and none of them was hurt by Mr. Rogers telling them that they “were special”. The person that is saying things against Mr. Rogers probably had a bad childhood with their parents and they never was told they “were special. I still tell my children and my grandchildren that they are special in there own way. I think they are jealous of him for making children think that they were special and they really believed it. FOX people seem to be acting like jerks. Mr. Rogers always spoke in a gentle voice as to not to frighten children. His soft spoken voice would sooth a child who was grumpy, they would listen and calm down. I loved Mr. Rogers. I wish there could be more of people who would do the things he did instead of the goofy cartoons that are on the TV today for children to watch.Thanks for letting me air my thoughts.

  39. Allen says:

    You people are unbelievable! You’ll defend anything that fox news says! Answer this question. Why did fox news back up president bush when he was sending troops to Iraq? The Taliban are from Afghanistan not Iraq. So why would we attack Iraq in order to get the terrorists? Answer that! Don’t dodge it.

    • “You people are unbelievable! You’ll defend anything that fox news says!”

      It’s characteristic of a simple mind to believe that any comment that doesn’t reinforce their bias is a “defense” of “the bad guys”. You want to believe that Fox news reported that Mr. Rogers was evil. To that end, you’ll accuse anyone who points out they were critical of the study and saying “evil” sarcastically as “defending” something indefensible.

      “The Taliban are from Afghanistan not Iraq. So why would we attack Iraq in order to get the terrorists? Answer that! ”

      Er, we wouldn’t and we didn’t. The goal was to depose terrorist supporter, megalomaniac and avid seeker of horrific weapons, Saddam Hussein.

      ” Answer this question. Why did fox news back up president bush when he was sending troops to Iraq? ”

      Answer this question. How did Fox news “back up” President Bush when he was sending troops to Iraq any less than any other network? Answer that! Don’t dodge it.

      ! ! !!!! !! !!!!

  40. everyone is biased says:

    u guys gotta chill out everyone ie biased and we are all fukin ass holes… dont u understand mister rogers grew up in a completly different generation when things may have been different. u ass holes need to chill the fuk out………… allllll offfff youuuuuu. its a god dam kids show. and parents should be teaching there children to grow up.

  41. Chris says:

    As someone who is part of the current generation of young adults, this is one of the most completely ridiculous things I have ever heard.

    Last time I checked, people from age 30-80 caused the great recession. If anything made people feel entitled it was the astounding amount of egoism that engulfed this country post WWII. The people who have failed, will continue to fail, and have screwed my generation over are the same people who are still in power.

    All you people are complete failures. We are going to have to clean up after your mess, because you people have the worst sense of entitlement this country has ever experienced. Your parents and grandparents had to live through the great depression and two world wars, and the best you could do to repay them was to completely crumble the entire financial system with your endless and selfish materialistic desires.

    Pathetic. Now I have to clean up after your mess. This is the first time in the history of the United States of America that this generation will be worse off then the one before it. All of you, are failures. Do us a favor and GTFO of this country.

  42. HA! says:

    Republicans, it’s like they’re fucking five!

    • This coming from a guy who couldn’t even look at the video before commenting on it with a scathing conclusion about half of the USA. There’s important context in not just accepting the OPs spin — such as the word “evil” being used sarcastically, Fox saying it’s more the parents fault and ending with “Mr. Rogers; not so bad”.

      Maybe there’s something to this study, you sure turned out too lazy to watch a simple video so you’d know what you were talking about.

  43. J.G. says:

    Really guys? This is happening posthumously? Nice. Attack him after he’s dead and can’t defend himself, Fox.
    My brother is developmentally delayed and LOVES Mr. Rogers. He doesn’t have a ton of confidence in his abilities in the first place, but watching Mr. Rogers brightened his day and gave him some positivity about the days he had to face at school. Yep, it’s a bad plan to bring some positivity into this world. A little self-esteem breeds lazy, trust fund babies who do no work? Where do they get this crap?

    • Mike in NJ says:

      Yeah, or the other extreme, where filthy rich socialite moms have no time to spend with their kids ’cause they’re out doing the tennis instructor, and rich ‘important’ fathers who treat their kids like crap, to make them ‘stronger’.(though they are sure to provide them a weekly $1500 allowance and the keys to the Porsche, because they wouldn’t want to neglect them, right?)

      How does that usually turn out?

  44. BCM says:

    Yes, we should go back to when children worked in factories 6 or 7 days a week, before the liberals came along and changed things, and suggested children should be reinforced with positive messages. Put the kids back to work blackening boots — that’ll do wonders.

    • Sean Tremcourt says:

      Alas, Those were the days!

    • Your history is dead, dead wrong.

      It was capitalist entrepreneurs who wanted better work out of their employees that improved working conditions. Henry Ford invented the weekend to attract better workers and keep them rested up and alert. He also had the bright idea of giving his workers more money — enough that they could give the money back to him by buying a car.

      Similarly, children suck at factory work and it benefited the capitalists to get better workers. Before that point, stretching back to the dawn of time, children had always been put to work. Children still work on farms to this day, away from the prying eyes of the nanny state. And while factory jobs aren’t good for children, mocking the idea of children working at all only makes you look stupid.

      Let’s not get our historical facts from huge special interests that need to make things up to stay relevant.

  45. anonymous says:

    I am definitely not a fox fan. i am as blue as they come, but to be honest, i am a little disappointed. this definitely seems satirical to me, with the exception of a few comments about spanking kids and the narcissism bull*@!t. if you listen to them, they aren’t making the statement, they talk about some professor in louisianna. and they even end with a doctor’s indifference and the last sentence is “Mister Rogers; not so bad.”
    It’s a shame that fox really isn’t so evil in this case. i don’t like them and love it when i can honestly be mad at them. unfortunately, i am not sold on this one.

  46. daveyD says:

    satire is not news. thats the big effin difference. you cant do satire and in the same breath claim to be news.

    • Anonymous says:

      how do you feel about colbert?

      • David says:

        Colbert doesn’t claim to be a news source.

        (Ok, well he does, but in a manner that’s so exaggerated and ridiculous, anyone with half a brain can tell he’s not really claiming it.)

    • ” you cant do satire and in the same breath claim to be news.”

      Yes, yes you can. American media has been satirical since American media has existed.

      It’s how we celebrate our grand tradition of free speech — by using it to be complete douchebags.

  47. Un-biased says:

    If you watch the whole thing, they are reporting the absurdity of the study. They find it very funny that someone would blame a guy who isn’t alive anymore for the way kids are now. They go on to say, why aren’t we holding the parents responsible? Kids today have entitlement issues because the parents gave them everything so as to keep up with the joneses.

    P.S. I don’t even have cable to watch this on a daily basis. I have no opinion on any network.

  48. Sean Tremcourt says:

    They are right, nothing but a generation of spoiled, entitled, panty wearing sissies

  49. Anonymous says:

    fuck fox news

  50. Crazy like fox says:

    Wow fox can suck it hard. As a people lets try and follow one rule dont blame mr. Rogers of all people! Wow and The lsu camp is really conducting some interesting studies.

  51. Anonymous says:

    Fuck that shit. Mr. Rogers was brilliant. In the first 12 seconds she says her self esteem isn’t good because of this “evil, evil man”. What the fuck? The Neighborhood of Make-Believe was fucking awesome. Dude wore cardigans. Cardigans are the shit.

    So because a kid is grown up and is working hard he isn’t getting anything for it means he isn’t … special? Oh fuck that.

    I’ve never met any person in my generation nor have I heard anyone ever blame their shit grades or shit life on Mr. Rogers because he said they were special so they deserved everything in life. That’s a whole load of bullshit and no one speaking on that segment deserves to have their vocal chords any longer.

    Mr. Rogers is evil because he taught kids to be nice to people? What the fuck about Barney? He did the exact same shit as Mr. Rogers AND STILL DOES!

    No one who grew up feels entitled to anything because Mr. Rogers told them they did. People in this world feel like they’re entitled to everything because kids these days are fucking selfish little bastards who don’t know any fucking better and were handed everything they asked for when they were younger.

    Mr. Rogers has no part in any of the bullshit they’re talking about. It’s just a way for Fox News to rip a hole through a democrat.

    Fox News needs to get the fuck over their republican bullshit.

  52. !!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

    WTF. Fox. Just shut the hell up. OMG.

  53. Frederal says:

    These people are the reason Aliens don’t say hello. OH wait nvm…. that’s Obama’s fault too.

  54. You know, I always had this bizarre theory that Fox News is actually an elaborate prank set up by The Onion and Rupert Murdoch that got so out of control nobody wants to admit it anymore.

  55. […] Fox News Calls Mr. Rogers “An Evil, Evil Man” – “Little did I know, Mr. Rogers was an evil man. By telling children they’re special just for being who they are, he helped create this generation of worthless, lazy socialists.” […]

  56. Anonymous says:

    HAHAHAHAHA wow, this is so silly!!!!!!

  57. Anonymous says:

    Fox is off the wall….Mr Rogers had a wonderful program for the children,i remember when my youngest was growing up & how she wouldn’t miss it,HOW CRUEL CAN YOU BE FOX…

  58. Anonymous says:

    It’s obvious Fox isn’t calling Mr Rogers evil and trying to entertain by presenting this absurd study. I was ready to rip Fox a new face-hole when I read the blurb but then I watched the video and my rational mind realized that while it’s not “news”, they’re certainly not pushing an anti Mr Rogers agenda or message.

  59. matt says:

    thats retarded

  60. beadknitter says:

    This is not Mr. Rogers fault! What a stupid ludicrous idea! It’s the parents of this generations fault. Children whine and beg for something rather than working for it because when they whined and begged to their parents they let them have it to shut them up. That’s where the attitude of entitlement comes from. When a parent says no, they should mean no. But not in this society. The very idea of blaming this on a gentle man’s childrens television show is cowardly. Parents! Accept responsibility for what YOU have created.

  61. […] because this paper discusses the late Mr. Rogers, a children’s television host. Recently, a piece on Fox news discussed how Mr. Rogers was “evil” (yes, they actually used the E-word) for insisting […]

  62. crumb says:

    A lot of people think the purpose of Fox News is shilling for the Right. But, in truth, its purpose is nothing more interesting than making money for Rupert Murdoch. They just find that this higher purpose is best served by saying the stupidest, most irritating things possible and watching people come by the millions to argue about it.

    It is mere coincidence that this falls directly in line with conservative social policy.

  63. Judi Brown says:

    This is the most ridiculous bit of trash I have ever heard/read. Mr. Rogers had nothing to do with what these morons are talking about. Blame the mess where it belongs, squarely on the shoulders of the parents. Mr. Rogers’ message was a personal one, meaning that the children are special as individuals. My only regret is that he wasn’t around when I was growing up. I could have used that bit of information.

  64. Anon says:

    Wow. What a perfect breed of sheep you democrats are.

    If you think CNN, NBC, MSNBC, and every newspaper in the US is satire free and 100% facts, you people are absolute idiots. Then again, that wouldn’t surprise me, as you think these media outlets are beyond reproach simply because they are heavily slanted towards liberals.

    Really pathetic bunch you are.

  65. […] writes on Prose Before Hos: Little did I know, Mr. Rogers was an evil man. By telling children they’re special just for […]

  66. your mother says:

    ahahaha! arguing in cyber space is hilarious! what a zinger to correct others grammar and spelling. ouch.

    i haven’t had an opinion on mr. rogers since i was 4, fox blows, and that study is bunk.

  67. Anonymous says:

    I see a lot of people yelling at each other over whether or not they are liberal and just insulting each other. That is not necessary.

    My opinion: Mr. Rogers is not evil. The statement that he is evil is not meant to be satire, but perhaps an exaggeration of how the speaker really feels. This indicates to me that the speaker does believe that Mr. Rogers had some malicious intent and had intended a result similar to the one asserted. I disagree with that as anyone would who can think critically.

    I further disagree that anyone who watched this show on a regular basis feels entitled simply because they were told they were special. And Mr. Rogers is not the only one who said this. It also does not logically follow that a student would seek an A when receiving something lower is because said student was told as a child that they were “special.” That kind of culture can be attributed to many other things.

    In fact, my father, who is now 60, consistently would tell me to go to my teachers and ask for a better grade whenever I got anything lower than an A. I am sure that’s not uncommon coming from parents from the baby boomer generation. He didn’t watch Mr. Rogers or encourage me to watch it. He certainly didn’t say I was “special.” It wasn’t until I was in my 20’s and out of college that he said anything truly positive to boost my self esteem when things were not going my way. So I find it extremely hard to believe that this experience is unusual, and I still went and asked for the extra points even though I didn’t feel “special.” If Mr. Rogers message was so influential, wouldn’t I then feel entitled and “special?” I guess it didn’t work. And I seriously doubt my experience is unique.

  68. ConserveTHIS says:

    Just so all the Fox News viewers know, Mr Rogers wasn’t talking about you. You’re not special, and nobody loves you. Yours is the mark of willful ignorance and crippling mediocrity. Fox News, and anyone who supports or profits from it, have left an indelible stain on our society. God help us all.

  69. Wow. says:

    Fox is full of mental jackasses.. They have nothing more to blame on others so they have to dig up crap like this.

  70. James Frominton says:

    The riffing on this “story” is just not entertaining, smart, funny, or informative. Its just really boring.

  71. Laurel says:

    I am *so* sick of hearing the older generation go on and on about how “entitled” my generation is.

    These people had opportunities handed to them on a silver platter when entered the job market. We’re experiencing *twice* the unemployment rate of the general public.

    The older generation could actually work their way through college and finish it debt-free, if they worked hard. We can’t make payments or get living wages even with our expensive degrees.

    Minimum wage has not adjusted with inflation across the decades, meaning it actually *meant* something for them.

    The boomers had fair, non-profit healthcare available to them when they were our age, and fair credit terms. We get milked and screwed and scammed and end up with nothing to show for it.

    While we work our asses off at Wal-Mart and call centers (because those are the ONLY JOBS THERE ARE) and eat ramen noodles to survive, we watch our parents’ generation prepare to buy second homes for recreation and lecture us about our “entitlement” and how we need to “work harder.”

    We’re not “entitled.” We f*cking DESPERATE.

    • Anonymous says:

      I agree with this 100 percent. This generation that grew up in the 70s is screwed BIG time on all levels by all means!

  72. Steve says:

    I find it really telling/interesting that nobody in this “discussion” – not Fox, not the original blogger, and not the 167 responses so far – bothered to go back and look up the original study that started the whole chain, let alone to think about it and comment on what was actually said there.
    In case anyone is interested in the real information rather than just looking for a shouting match on whether Fox is good or bad or whether somebody spells retarded correctly or not, here are a few points:
    – The “study” in question wasn’t done at LSU. If you look at the link included in the blog and actually read it, you will see that the guy at LSU refers to a study done by somebody at San Diego State University.
    – I think the following is a link to the paper on the study in question (I can’t be sure, because the name of the author isn’t given, but it seems to fit the “facts” of the discussion:
    – This paper, nor any of the others that I looked at that are related (links below) say anything about Mr. Rogers. You can be the judge (if you want to make the effort to actually read the research) on the validity of the concept that folks like Mr. Rogers might have something to do with the results the study reports.
    – If I interpret it correctly, what the study says is:
    (1) they looked at two kinds of praise that you can give kids; you can praise them for being smart, which implies that if they do well, they do well because they are smart or; you can praise them for working hard and achieving great things;
    (2) That praising them for being smart makes them want to continue to show they are smart by continuing to succeed and praising them for working hard makes them want to continue working hard so they can continue to succeed;
    (3) both forms of praise make kids feel good when they do well, and praising them for being smart maybe makes them feel a little better than praising them for working hard when they are successful;
    (4) when kids fail at a task, the ones that are usually praised for being smart think they failed because they aren’t as smart as they thought while kids that are usually praised for working hard think they failed because they didn’t work hard enough;
    (5) the kids who think they failed because they aren’t as smart as they thought start avoiding difficult tasks because they fear repeated failures and fear being proved to be not smart while the kids who think they failed because they didn’t try hard enough are still willing to take on hard tasks but they believe they need to work harder to succeed;
    (6) so … it is better to praise for hard work because it makes the kid feel good when he succeeds and encourages him to try again when he fails whereas praising him for being smart works well when he succeeds but causes him to feel stupid when he fails.
    (7) Somewhere, in one of the papers, the author notes that everyone believes that when you discipline a kid for doing a bad thing, you should emphasize that the act was bad, not the kid; you must make sure they understand they aren’t a bad person, they just did a bad thing. The author suggests that the same should be true when a kid succeeds. When she succeeds, you should praise her for working hard and doing a good thing rather than telling her she did well just because she is inherently a good/smart person; you must make sure that she understand that she didn’t succeed just because she is a good person, she succeeded because she did a good thing by working hard.
    I suspect that the guy at LSU was trying to say that Mr. Rogers’ habit of praising everyone for being inherently special is like telling them they will do well no matter what because they are special. This may lead them to think they aren’t so special if they fail (which they will inevitably do sometimes). Maybe he (the guy at LSU) thinks, by extension, that telling everyone they are special leads them to think that they should be able to do well whether they work hard or not and thus to feel entitled to reward rather they work hard or not.
    The guy from LSU also notes that asians are less likely to think themselves entitled to reward without working hard. The studies linked below also mention that asian students, who are significantly more numerous in University of California schools than in most US schools, are less prone to this inflated sense of self. Those students apparently tend to believe that if they fail it is an indication that they need to work harder, not that it is an indication that they were being unfairly mistreated.
    Other references:
    http://sitemaker.umich.edu/brad.bushman/files/TKFCB08A.pdf
    http://sitemaker.umich.edu/brad.bushman/files/TKFCB08B.pdf
    http://a-s.clayton.edu/bgoldman/Psy3560/fostercampbelltwenge2003jrp.pdf
    http://www.stanford.com/dept/psychology/cgi-bin/drupalm/system/files/Intelligence%20Praise%20Can%20Undermine%20Motivation%20and%20Performance.pdf

    • Mike in NJ says:

      Nice overview, Steve. Thank you for looking into this. I think the moral of this story, in my opinion, is that Fox News has historically lacked any subtlety in examining complex problems, choosing instead to go for the base laugh, the easy punch line, the ‘obvious’ conclusion. And therein, in subtlety, lies understanding. But their lack of subtlety contibutes to a ‘black or white,’ ‘my way or the highway,’ ‘with us or against us’ attitude.

      Since the world is more complicated than that, let’s just all stay away from Fox News, eh? I promise, we’ll all be better off for it.

      • This is actually the rule in every news show and channel. It’s not unique to Fox, it’s just the way news is. Fox is actually a little better because they still assign journalists to investigate stories, as opposed to other news channels that employ all 2 of their “journalists” to sift through Sarah Palin’s emails.

  73. Erik says:

    Is this for real?? How stupid!

    It couldn’t possibly be the parents’ fault for raising a generation of kids with little to no discipline… No, let’s blame it on a kids show!

  74. Anonymous says:

    If he said they were not special and needed to improve, they would have criticized him for saying that as well. It’s the idiotic society the kids are growing in that is hurting them, not one person. God dammit.

  75. B. says:

    I do hear the sarcasm and incredulity in the reporters’ voices, which makes this a little less awful, but reporting on this study at all is not a good idea. We do not need to give parents more reason to not push their kids. Now, they can say “Oh, well, they were spoiled by Mr. Rogers. I can’t do anything about it.”
    Watch the whole thing. At the end, they do talk about the parents responsibility.

  76. biggy says:

    this is fucking bullshit, fucking idiots.

  77. L Lawliet says:

    What…
    Mr. Rogers was a great man.

  78. O.O says:

    Are you seriously kidding me? You’re going to attack a dead guy and blame him for the problems of society? Why don’t you yell at schools who don’t believe in failing children because it lowers their self esteem? Why don’t you blame bad parents that sit their kids in front of the television or the computer?

    Give it a break, you idiots. We live in a feel good society, and that is the entire cause of our problems.

  79. Lili says:

    How about the parents start turning the TV shows off for a good long while? That way no one can point fingers at objects “ruining their kids.”instead of blaming the source- themselves.

1 2 3 4
Hot On The Web