Seattle, WA – Mayor Jenny Durkan, Kshama Sawant and the rest of the Seattle City Council have demanded local PBS station KCTS cancel reruns of the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood television show. This came as a result of a newly surfaced video showing Mr. Rogers washing the feet of a police officer in a children’s pool.
“We cannot accept this form of police supremacy where some old white guy shows solidarity with the police in today’s environment,” said Kshama Sawant. “What does this teach our impressionable children? Even using the sexist terminology ‘mister’ is morally wrong. Despicable!”
Mayor Durkan was in full agreement. “We can’t allow this acceptance of police culture any longer in our society. It just sickens me watching that disgusting display of subservience to that police officer, washing his feet and all. Just awful that I ever allowed my kids to watch that show.”
When asked if PBS plans on removing the show, director Jim Floyd said they’d already begun the process before the controversy erupted. “We were made aware by an anonymous source of this outdated form of police superiority. After confirming the horrific episode we couldn’t wait any longer,” said Floyd. “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is cancelled just like that police puppy on Paw Patrol is cancelled.”
When it was pointed out that the actor who portrayed the police officer was a gay, African-American man, Sawant wasn’t swayed. “This is 2020. Those were the olden days of the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. I don’t care who that actor is. If you have a uniform on you’re a terrorist in my book. In fact, if I was living in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood I already would’ve blocked it off with armed comrades, burned half the place down, and then kicked Fred, that officer and all his bourgeoisie puppets, especially King Friday, out of our new perfect city,” said Sawant. “Then I would have named it the Cancelled Mister Rogers Autonomous Zone or CMRAZ. Silence is violence and if you watch Mister Rogers that is now violence, too.”
[Photo credit (modified): Fred Rogers Productions]
