No matter how dark life seemed, Rogers was a constant, comforting light who went out
of his way to make the world less scary.
But according to some rumors, he might have once been one of the scariest parts of it.
It's about as evocative an image as can be imagined: Fred Rogers staring down the scope
of a high powered rifle, his tattoo-covered arms gleaming with jungle sweat.
Just another day in the neighborhood...of Vietnam.
Chances are, this all sounds at least vaguely familiar, thanks to the Internet age and an
early-2000s enthusiasm for forwarding interesting nonsense to all your coworkers.
"Duck, duck, birdie?
Hahaha!
That's very funny."
For the record, though, there's a relieving truth to be told about the rumors surrounding
Fred Rogers, the host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and godfather of common decency.
Difficult though it may be to believe, Rogers was never a military sniper, or a military
anything.
During the Vietnam war, his supposed playground of death in the long-running urban legend,
he was busy, you know, being Mister Rogers.
From 1963 to 1967, he had his first children's television show, broadcast by the Canadian
Broadcasting Company.
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood started running in 1968, and kept going until 2001.
During that time, he was also working as a Presbyterian minister.
That didn't give him a lot of time to ponder over the horrors of war.
"Welcome, neighbor.
To this television neighborhood"
According to a biographical article posted by the National Archives, Rogers registered
for the draft at age 20, but was deemed unfit for service two years later.
And for all of the rumors that he constantly wore long sleeves to cover his inked up arms,
it's possible to do a three second Google image search and realize that no, his arms
weren't covered in tattoos.
So why have lies about Mister Rogers become so pervasive in the years since his passing?
Well, to paraphrase Norman Osborn, the one thing the internet loves more than a hero
is to see a hero fall.
"In spite of everything you've done for them, eventually they will hate you.
Why bother?"
If the last few years have taught us anything, it's that at any given moment, we are an early
morning Twitter check away from having our pop culture heroes redefined as deviant monsters,
but Fred Rogers seems to have been the exception to the rule.
In the decade and a half since he passed away, the becardiganed icon has somehow held up
when viewed through the lens of history, presumably because, plot twist, he really was just an
excellent guy.
"Well you learn something different every day, don't you?"
Maybe that's why rumors about Mister Rogers' clandestine lifestyle have been so prevalent
over the years.
The legends of his bloodsoaked military service have been circulating for more than a decade,
sometimes bringing Captain Kangaroo into the mix in sort of a children's television Expendables
mash up.
Rogers' fictional tattoos almost always make an appearance.
And of course, there will always be the oft-recirculated stills of Fred holding two middle fingers
up to the heavens, grinning from ear to ear.
It certainly looks jarring when you take it out of context, but he was just singing "Where
Is Thumbkin?"
Rogers is far from the only children's TV personality to be plagued by internet rumors
over the years.
Similar lies about the actor or actors who played Barney have made the rounds, stating
that they overdosed or were caught smuggling drugs in the outfit's tail, among other stories.
And of course, there was Steve Burns, the man who helped Blue track down Clues for six
years.
After his departure from Blue's Clues, Burns was rumored to have died of a heroin overdose
when, in reality, he was busy recording a pretty killer indie album with members of
the Flaming Lips.
Not everyone waltzes into family friendly entertainment with a squeaky clean reputation,
of course.
Let us never forget that Bob Ross spent several years pointing out subordinates' happy accidents
in the Air Force as a hard-nosed drill sergeant.
But when it comes to Mister Rogers, the neighborhood streets are as clean and wholesome as always,
and we can finally retire those rumors about the lovable TV host raising hell in the heart
of darkness.
"No one person can do everything."
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