Wow. There's low, then there's scummy low, then there's...FOX News.
FOX News is Fucking Crazy
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 rewards without working... at least according to Fox News.
...They actually use the word "evil" to describe Mr. Rogers and criticize him for his "optimistic message." Then one of them starts babbling about how children should go back to churning butter and making their own sweaters.
Not much for me to add to this guys' analysis--he pretty much says it all at the link.
I'm not sure when this clip actually aired--it was posted to YouTube in December, but the chyrons make reference to Tony Snow as the White House Press Secretary, and the local temperatures flashing by refer to St. Louis being 90º, so it sounds like around July 2007 or so.
And yes, the chyron at the opening of the clip actually reads:
"DOCTOR TERROR RING: BLAME MR. ROGERS?"
In any event, watch for yourself and be awestruck--no matter how pathetic and hate-filled I think FOX can get, they find new ways to sicken me:
Who're they gonna go after next? Mother Theresa? Dr. Seuss?
Will they accuse Frog & Toad of being gay lovers? (Hey, they've said that about Bert and Ernie and the Teletubbies, so why not?
Anyway, nothing new here, really; just the nutcases being their usual insane selves. I just hadn't stumbled across this particular bit of insanity until now.
UPDATE: Thanks to sawgrass727 in the comments for sourcing the "research" behind the "Mr. Rogers Ruins Kids" claim:
Blame It on Mr. Rogers: Why Young Adults Feel So Entitled
Absolutely, this is garbage.
Don Chance, a finance professor at Louisiana State University, says it dawned on him last spring. The semester was ending, and as usual, students were making a pilgrimage to his office, asking for the extra points needed to lift their grades to A's.
"They felt so entitled," he recalls, "and it just hit me. We can blame Mr. Rogers."
it's not even clear that there was any research done--it seems that it's just Chance pontificating based on his anecdotal observations (shocking!) of college students in business courses. Aha, that's it--such "studies" are the plabum of Fox News material.
Yep, you read that right--the guy is a FINANCE professor. Not psychology or sociology. Finance.
UPDATE x2: I should really give credit to whomever submitted it to DIGG, which is where I found out about this gem--go DIGG IT UP, willya?