Michelle's corner

One of the questions asked very near the start, is whether Fred Rogers made a difference with the many, many years that he ran his show on TV.

He knew communication. Things which we know today, such as being a good listener and treating children not like children... not quite like adults but sort of... if they can understand the question they're asking, then they deserve a decent answer... he knew all those decades ago.

"There are so many people who will just lump them all together and say, 'Hey Kids, come on we'll see the next cartoon,' and they couldn't care less about what that cartoon is saying to the child about such things as human dignity."

He tackled so much in the way of really tough subjects like death, assassination, race, divorce and other things which would otherwise have been thought to have been off a child's radar at the time. It's as if people forget that all these things happen around children; and they need help to make sense of these things, but no one would talk to the child about them. Well, not Fred Rogers; he talked about them.

Look at us now. It's 2019 and we're starting to talk about it being OK to not be OK.

First and foremost, we need to love ourselves and children are looking around for validation... and they're not finding it. So they turn to anywhere that makes them feel valued; and certainly in some societies it's the criminal element that are capitalising on this. Commercial and other interests are also; like, "buy this product and you'll be liked." Just look at how Rogers closed his shows, "You've made this day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you; and I like you just the way you are."

The next is to love each other. He did much in his shows to diffuse some of those tensions. Officer Clemmons was played by coloured actor François Clemmons who said, "I have always felt policemen would be the most dangerous person in the neighbourhood. So to have me playing a police officer, I was tremendously hesitant; but there was something reluctant about Fred to let go and I said, 'Mr Rogers, I would be very happy to be on your programme as long as it doesn't interfere with my singing." Then it moved to the critical episode 195 on the 9th of May 1969 ... before I was even born. It was the episode where Mr Rogers shared a foot bath with Officer Clemmons as a statement against the incident with the hotel manager tossing cleaning chemicals in a swimming pool where people of various races were enjoying the water.

He also said, "I think that those who would try to make you feel less than who you are; I think that's the greatest evil." I sat and wondered what he would have made of what the internet has turned into and how he would tackle the issue of cyber bullying that seems to have taken an entire generation by storm.

Did Fred Rogers make a difference? I think he did, but I believe that he has been part of an ongoing change that we are maybe not seeing until now, and it's a shame that he isn't here to see it. He had self doubts about his ability to do all this, but here we are; in spite of his own childhood experiences. As he grew in notoriety then more difficulties were put in his way by society questioning him; and he overcame it. What he achieved is still playing a part in how our society is going forward. If that wasn't the case, then this film wouldn't have been made. But it has... because he did.

"Sometimes we need to struggle with a tragedy to feel the gravity of love. Love is what keeps us together, and afloat."