COLUMN: A beautiful day in the neighborhood

Friday, March 20, would have been Mr. Rogers’ 98th birthday. He died in 2003.

Fred Rogers, a man of quiet strength and integrity, taught generations of children about acceptance and inclusion with puppets and imagination. He taught through television about equality regardless of race, gender or ethnicity. He quieted fears. He didn’t fan fears.

You remember Mr. Rogers. He entered his house, took off his jacket and put on a zip-up cardigan sweater knit by his mother. He changed from “outside” shoes and replaced them with sneakers. His voice was kind in a soft, modulated tone. He sang a lovely little song that began, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.” He would ask if we would be his neighbor and tell us that he always wanted a neighbor “just like you.” It ended with “Won’t you be my neighbor?”

Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister and musician that dedicated his career to supporting the emotional and social development of young children. His PBS television show “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” aired from 1968-2001, featuring quiet conversations and puppet segments in the “Neighborhood of Make Believe” focusing on feelings.

Imagine a grown-up talking quietly with children about feelings. He used his platform to talk about social issues and shared a kiddie pool with Officer Clemmons, a black mailman, during racial unrest in 1969 to quietly protest segregation. In 1969, he testified in front of Congress and saved funding for PBS.

I wonder what he would think today? What would he think about the crassness of language, bullying, “frat-boy-bro” attitude and name-calling that has become part of our lived experience? Would any of them listen to a man with a gentle, kind voice? A person who understood what pain might be hiding underneath the surface?

Fred Rogers knew what it meant to be bullied. He was a shy, introverted and chubby child and spent much of his young life alone. He was called “Fat Freddy.” He became a ventriloquist which led him to the puppet inhabitants of the “Neighborhood of Make Believe.” At his core, he knew pain and chose to transform it to understanding and kindness rather than meanness and cruelty.

What would he think about what has happened in neighborhoods across America in the past months?

What would Mr. Rogers think of children being separated from parents and placed in detention centers with no one to care for them? I’m especially thinking of a 5-year-old in a knit blue bunny hat.

What would Mr. Rogers think about a mother trying to warn her neighbors about ICE agents in the neighborhood? Her last words were, “Hey, dude, I’m not mad at you.” Then she was shot point-blank.

What would Mr. Rogers think about an ER nurse trying to help and protect a woman thrown to the ground by masked ICE agents? Then he was shot 10 times in the back.

Fred Roger’s famous quote was attributed to his mother. He stated that when he was a child and saw scary things in the news, his mother said, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” He mused that in times of disaster he remembered his mother’s words and was comforted by realizing that there are still many helpers — so many caring people in this world.

Mr. Rogers might understand people using whistles and car horns, not guns, to warn neighbors. Moms escorting children to and from bus stops for safety. Neighbors delivering groceries for families too frightened to leave their homes. Unrelated adults driving children to school and accompanying the parents to appointments. Families offering a safe space to immigrants if their homes became unsafe.

“Look for the helpers.”

Protests in sub-zero weather bring attention to the ill treatment of communities of color. Senior citizens standing on street corners along busy highways holding signs protesting the treatment of their neighbors. Calls and letters to elected officials asking that ICE agents take off their masks and behave as any other law enforcement officer does.

Look for the helpers. Those helpers prove the beauty of neighborhoods and neighbors can be found.

Be a helper. Make the choice.