by Travis Mateer

I am choosing today, February 24th, to announce that something dark is stirring in Brickland. Dark, like the actual origins of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, a show that wasted no time talking to kids about the political assassination that took out JFK’s brother, Robert.

Here is how Mr. Rogers helped kids process the fact that a cabal of sociopaths were flexing on the quaint notion of “Democracy” with a little help from those smart or, should I say, INTELLIGENT people who do what needs to be done for the people who matter. From the link:

This special program attempts to console children in the wake of the June 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy during this “disturbing time in our nation’s history.” Songs, sketches with puppets, and play sessions are aimed at helping children work through their anger and confusion about his violent death. Highlights include: tree trunk resident Lady Elaine Fairchild hectors a reluctant X the Owl into taking the part of assassin Sirhan Sirhan in a ghoulish game of make-believe; Lady Elaine, X, and Lady Aberlin discuss playing games and venting aggressions; a dancer leads a group of five children in a series of games in King Friday the XIII’s castle, allowing them to channel their energy in positive, imaginative ways; Rogers croons the song “What Do You Do?” which deals with anger and aggression; Lady Aberlin comforts the sensitive, taciturn Daniel Striped Tiger, who fears that people, like balloons, can lose all their air, and asks her the meaning of assassination; and Rogers urges parents to protect and support their children from the graphic display of violence which has been shown frequently by the mass media. 

Since I watched the documentary on Mr. Rogers recently, this strange attempt by Fred Rogers to broach the subject of political assassination is intermingling with my recent re-watching of Apocalypse Now and all the baggage that came along with. Shit is weird and getting weirder.

Twin Peaks is another show I re-watched, but not for enjoyment–far from it! I consider viewing this kind of material as necessary research, and part of what drives where my attention goes is the oddness of synchronicity. So it definitely caught my attention that February 24th is the fictional date Laura Palmer is found dead and wrapped in plastic next to a body of water. Here’s an interesting quote from a fan-page I found:

If this fictional darkness isn’t in your face enough, try this: February 24th, 2022, is the moment in history we might look back on as the date this guy got the call to be the puppet for instigating WWIII.

One final February 24th moment happened a hundred years before RFK was assassinated, and it features a REAL President (unlike Zelensky, who just plays one on TV). Since impeaching presidents and civil wars are part of our current discourse, it’s interesting to think about 1868 and the moves being made against Andrew Johnson (emphasis mine):

Isn’t this QUITE the date in history? Indeed. So maybe today isn’t the best day to be hitting icy roads for the town of my birth. Maybe I’ll stop where I originally intended, which is the mystical land of Mandamus.

Stay tuned…