
Mr. Rogers was my actual neighbor - benryon
https://www.vox.com/first-person/2018/7/26/17616380/fred-rogers-documentary-2018-mister-rogers-neighborhood
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codingdave
The lesson I take from such anecdotes is simply to be authentic. Most of my
frustrations with people come from a lack of authenticity. In particular, in
the working world, there is a tendency to let organizational roles,
structures, and responsibilities turn our interactions into something less
than being our authentic selves, and that is the root cause of many
frustrations.

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analognoise
"Be authentic" is not good advice to adults.

To kids, sure. But you also have to explain to them that as an adult, nobody
cares for your search for authenticity, you're expected to show up and work.
There are too many people who are flaky these days who all think they're
special, I think it's related to the wave of "be authentic" advice out there.

Edited to not come across as negative - people are real sensitive about that.

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codingdave
I don't think you and I are talking about the same kind of authenticity.

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xt00
I tend to put on opposite ends of the spectrum being strategic and authentic.
Authentic interactions with people at work generally are better for everybody
if you are in an environment that is compatible with that. Many environments
are not so you have to be more reserved and strategic about what you say and
how you interact with people. Being authentic with people outside of work is
not terrible advice. Allowing people to know you are having some emotion such
as happiness or fear or sadness allows people become closer to you and you to
them. Mr Rogers talked a lot about that—expressing how you feel about things.
I think many people misconstrue mr Rogers to be all about the “you are
special” thing. But his target demographic was kids who likely were not that
well off and had not great family lives. Having somebody who tells you that
you are not a piece of trash probably helped a lot of kids.

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crispyambulance
I got to meet him at an art opening back in the 90's. The accounts of him as a
genuine nice guy, I feel, are accurate.

As far as appearance goes he was definitely more urbane than his sweater-
wearing persona on the TV show would suggest. Of course he was a sophisticated
creative person in an environment with adults. Meanwhile, we were all silently
channeling our innermost 5-year-old selves (he probably knew that and was used
to it)!

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extralego
Incase anyone hasn’t seen this video of him presenting before the senate
committee in 1969, in support of national public television.

[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fKy7ljRr0AA](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fKy7ljRr0AA)

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quantisan
tl;dr the author had a one-time encounter with Mr. Rogers when the author was
soliciting donations for his little league. Mr. Rogers was as empathetic as he
was portrayed on his shows. That erased any previous doubt that the author had
regarding Mr. Rogers' authenticity.

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mhb
Also, he lied to Mr. Rogers which seems like it deserved more introspection
than evidenced in the article.

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jason_slack
Was the $1 Rogers donated a generous amount back then? What real world items
might it have bought?

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jason_slack
Why the downvote? It’s a serious question. IIRC you could buy an ice cream
cone for perhaps .05-.10?

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hansthehorse
I was a kid in NYC in the late 50's early 60's. My sister and I bought a soft
pretzel from street vendors for a nickel or 6 for a quarter. We also got a
lunch from a pizza place of a slice and a coke for a quarter.

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jason_slack
So the $1 could have benefited the team significantly. It was hard to get from
the article wether the author was thankful for the $1 or thought it was petty.

