As a child at Latrobe Elementary School in Pennsylvania, Fred Rogers had been a victim of vicious bullying. Kids picked on him because of his weight and because he was sensitive about it. It was a horrible experience, but this pain spurred his groundbreaking work in public television. “I began a lifelong search for what is essential,” he said about his childhood, “what it is about my neighbor that doesn’t meet the eye.” He even framed a print of that idea on the wall of his production studio in Pittsburgh, a snippet from one of his favorite quotes: L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
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