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Friday, July 6, 2007
TV You’re Special! (But Not Any More Special Than Anyone Else, So Get Over Yourself, You Little Creep.)
Posted by on Fri, Jul 6 at 2:02 PM
Check out this article from the Wall Street Journal which makes the case that children are more narcissistic than ever—and apparently it’s because of Mr. Rogers. As we all know, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood was a calm, gentle show for kids, where the kindly Rogers would often remind his viewers that they were “special—just because of who you are.”
However, now educators are second-guessing that strategy, claiming that this “specialness” gives children a sense of entitlement.
On the Yahoo Answers Web site, a discussion thread about Mr. Rogers begins with this posting: “Mr. Rogers spent years telling little creeps that he liked them just the way they were. He should have been telling them there was a lot of room for improvement. … Nice as he was, and as good as his intentions may have been, he did a disservice.”Signs of narcissism among college students have been rising for 25 years, according to a recent study led by a San Diego State University psychologist. Obviously, Mr. Rogers alone can’t be blamed for this. But as Prof. Chance sees it, “he’s representative of a culture of excessive doting.”
Of course, they’re leaving a lot of wiggle room in this argument. I’m not exactly sure what constitutes “doting”—not beating them? Regardless, there’s a world of leeway between constantly expecting perfection out of a kid, and letting them get away with murder. To me, Mr. Rogers was about getting out, experiencing new things, and doing the hard work necessary to become a productive member of society. Which is why I think this Mr. Rogers analogy is so completely stupid.
Got any feelings about how kids today don’t got no respect for their elders and insist on playing that horrible “rocky roll” music?
Comments
Right. Don't blame the rise of corporatism and a greedy consumer driven culture that tell children they're entitled to everything. Blame a sweet man who just wanted to help and entertain children and who can't even defend himself since he's dead.
And all along I'd been thinking it was all the fault of Tinky Winky.
Bottom line. I'm special. You're not. Punk.
Before we start accusing people of advocating child-abuse, or hopping up on a high horse and screaming, "DON'T TELL ME HOW TO RAISE MY FUCKING KIDS!", let's think about this for a minute.
One of the inarguable duties of any parent is to ensure their kids do not grow up to become assholes.
Assholes are, almost by definition, incredibly self-centered people.
Therefore, one has to ask if constantly telling a child that he or she is perfect and unique and oh-so-very-special is really the best tactic. The question is: does artificially-inflated self-esteem breed narcissism and selfishness? It's a fair question, I think.
I mean, seriously. There's a reason they call it spoiling.
(Having said that, I thought the WSJ article was complete shit. Blaming Mr. Rogers for a general rise in douchebaggery is idiotic.)
I sorta thought the "entitlement age" was due to all the baby-boomers who undulged their children with every new gadget or toy, then paid for their college education in binge drinkig, then gave them some money to travel overseas, and then provide them with rent or a down payment for a house so that they can find their inner artist. This is at least the case for the 20somethings who live in my apartment building.
Well that, and the fact that many 20somethings are about $10,000 in credit card debt.
Now I'm drunk. I'll kill anyone what fucks with Mr. Rogers!!!
I agree with Gretchen. Babyboomers find narcissism annoying precisely because it interferes with their ability to be the center of the universe. Telling a child that they're unique, special and loved is not spoiling. Indulging their every whim and not teaching them to share,is.
Cheesus said it best. I have nothing to add.
Duchebaggery. Thank you so much for that. I have nothing more to say except that I always thought Mr. Rogers was talking to someone else when he told me how special I was.
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Mr. Rogers was almost the only person when I was a kid who wasn't either verbally or through their actions telling me I was a worthless piece of shit. I only credit him and my grandmother for keeping me from growing up to be a serial killer.