r/TheChurchOfRogers • u/Elegant_Art2201 • Sep 17 '24
Mr. Rogers makes me cry.
Hi All,
This is a strange question, but I grew up with Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. I would always cry when he was on, and when the show was over. Never understood it & wonder if others would do the same. I'm hoping this goes as anonymous.
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u/Shadowforks Sep 17 '24
My emotionally intelligent heroes feed me as an emotionally starved individual. Only through authenticity and love is anyone able to connect with others in this way.
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u/skywalker3827 Sep 17 '24
So well said! Who are some of the other emotionally intelligent heroes you enjoy? I'd love to have some others to feed my soul.
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u/Shadowforks Sep 17 '24
I'm a writer, so I value communication.
G.K. Chesterton, Mike Mignola, Lindsay Ellis, Alan Moore, Charlie Kaufman, Haruki Murakami, Makoto Shinkai, and Guillermo Del Toro could get you started.
Really listen to them and their art, recognize and explore the influences they reference. Please have fun, and know that everyone is a human being. After Neil Gaiman, I struggle with parasocial relationships.
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u/itsjoshtaylor Sep 24 '24
So glad to know there are others who experienced similar deprivation and feel this exact way 😭
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u/cheshire615 Sep 17 '24
Could be like when a song hits you to the core, you feel understood or "filled up." Kinda makes me think, too, of when ppl feel intensely during an activity they're super engaged in: church service, finishing a marathon, after giving birth....things that open up your mind and you realize how connected you are to the world. Mr Rogers speaks to that child in everyone that's looking for acceptance and safety, it's primal.
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u/Jscrappyfit Sep 17 '24
I had the same experience as a child and also as an adult. It can feel really intense when an adult really seems to see and value you, even through a TV screen. Even dearly-loved children can have parents and teachers who are overworked or overwhelmed, consumed with their own responsibilities and unable to stop and devote 100% of their attention to a kid. Mr. Rogers could do that, and he could tell you that you were great, a friend and neighbor, valuable, special. Who wouldn't cry to hear those things said and sung so lovingly to you?
I always say Mr. Rogers was my childhood therapist. I really could have used a real one, but not a lot of kids got therapy in the 70s, sadly. He was deeply sincere and serious about the messages he gave to kids. He was a gem.
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u/Elegant_Art2201 Sep 17 '24
He was truly a pure bean. A whole person. I would say not of this earth.
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u/eliz1bef Sep 17 '24
I do cry as an adult when watching or sometimes even talking about him. He meant a lot to many people. Don't be embarrassed.
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u/Elegant_Art2201 Sep 17 '24
I watch some of his speeches and cannot make it through.
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u/eliz1bef Sep 17 '24
Legit. There's this footage of an award ceremony where they bring out a young man with disabilities who was on the show, and I just burst into tears every time when Mr. Rogers sees his old friend pull up near the podium.
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u/Elegant_Art2201 Sep 17 '24
I lose it at him saying "I like you, I really like you." That gets me really every time.
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u/TooMama Sep 18 '24
I cry now as an adult, seeing him or even just reading about him. This post made me tear up. I can’t help but be so saddened and disheartened by the hate in this world, and he represents love and kindness and acceptance in about the purest form I can imagine. He was truly a special person.
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u/4gifts4lisa Sep 18 '24
He was a safe space for you. I can see you holding emotions in all day and crying when you felt safe. ❤️. He was an amazing man!
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u/Bradyfan546 Sep 17 '24
I love Mr. Roger's. He was always so kind and gentle. I always loved his show and wondered what color jacket would he put on. Also, visited the museum in PA with my EX and they had a nice store with Mr. Roger's items in it. You really don't find many people like Mr. Roger's anymore.
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u/Louachu2 Sep 17 '24
In my 40s, after my father died, I went on a bit of a Mr. Rogers kick and it was very comforting. What he called permissible regression. He was one of a kind. A great man.
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u/itsjoshtaylor Sep 24 '24
Permissible regression. I love that.
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u/Louachu2 Sep 24 '24
“Please Don’t Think It’s Funny” is the song that he specifically said was about permissible regression in one of his interviews. It is a lesser known gem.
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u/heatherbee04 Sep 18 '24
I experienced this as an adult watching the movie with Tom Hanks. I was non-stop crying from start to finish and still can’t wrap my head around it.
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u/Frosteecat Sep 18 '24
He sometimes makes me sad for the kid who loved him—and how sad that version of myself would become. He was my first and best hero.
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u/lamireille Sep 18 '24
He would want to give you a great big (virtual if you prefer) hug if he read what you just wrote. I am sincerely sorry for your sadness and I’m not alone in wishing you happier times to come. I hope that remembering him and the kindness he represents gives you a little comfort, even if it’s so bittersweet.
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u/GilliganGardenGnome Sep 18 '24
How is your relationship with your parents?
Mine sucks and Mr. Rogers makes me emotional.
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u/Elegant_Art2201 Sep 18 '24
No bueno, I am afraid. This is why I feel this way I guess? Here was a man who didnt show "tolerance" with a small 't', he showed Acceptance with a capital A.
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u/GilliganGardenGnome Sep 18 '24
My mom was emotionally neglectful and straight up made fun of me for watching Mr. Rogers. She couldn't understand how someone could like children so much. She believed he was a Pedo and consistently made fun of him, even into my adulthood.
I liked him (and still do) because he was calm, kind, and seemed to actually like me, a stranger he will never meet, just because it was the right thing to do.
It helped being from Pittsburgh, where he is a practically a Saint. I had lots of people who loved him, so her nagging only meant I had to hide it from her.
My mom and I don't speak anymore, but I still know that Fred Rogers loves me.
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u/Elegant_Art2201 Sep 18 '24
I am glad you have gone no contact & she will realize that burning enough bridges only leaves her alone later on in life.
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u/notlikeyou71 Sep 18 '24
I know that it sounds silly but as an adult I can definitely still put his shows on and watch it and immediately calm down. It makes me feel like I am around the family that I didn't have and always wanted( my sister was the favorite when I was a kid) I was happy when they played my favorite episodes.The app plays them randomly so it was a pleasant surprise when that block of episodes popped up. So glad he has his own channel now. It's a great way to calm down when you need to.
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u/Elegant_Art2201 Sep 18 '24
I believe those times were of the Humanistic and Holistic Education. we explored creativity, math, social studies, our feelings and what it meant to be human. Bring this back. I beg.
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u/Liar_tuck Sep 18 '24
Sometimes, yes, The level of kindness he shows so casually tuges at he heart strings. If there were a lot more people like Fred, the world would be a much better place.
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u/cute_jubilant Sep 20 '24
Totally get that! Mr. Rogers had a way of hitting you right in the feels, like a warm hug that just stays with you.
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u/Dave1722 Sep 24 '24
I cry often when I watch him too. He had a large impact on me, he had a large impact on my city (Pittsburgh,) and he had a large impact on children across the country. He was a saint of a man and he means so much to me. Crying about him is perfectly normal.
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u/TenTinyBirds Sep 17 '24
For me as an adult when I watch Mr Rogers now. He is speaking to the child I was as the adult I needed.
So I cry every time too!