"Barney, the harmless, ever-so-lovable purple dinosaur who is the star of the highest-rated public TV show for children in the United States, Barney and Friends, becomes a fierce object of hate. A Barney lookalike was viciously attacked in a Texas shopping mall, and an "I Hate Barney Secret Society" has formed, turning Barney's "I Love You, You Love Me" theme song into "I Hate You, You Hate Me, Let's Go Out and Kill Barney!" ... Barney and Friends was envisioned as a toddler show. It was created in the late 1987 by Sheryl Leach, a young mother who wanted a simple program that would entertain her pre-school children. ... Kindergarteners often do still like Barney, but by grade school, most children have learned to disdain him. ... How one wields Barney (whether one "loves" him or "hates" him) is akin to riding a merry-go-round: one does it differently at different ages."