MEMES, Pt. 2: Scumbag Steve

Endless Thread

WBUR

Reddit, Technology

4.2 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 30 September 2021

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If there is an OG meme in which a human is the star, Scumbag Steve is it. He spread across the internet like wildfire in 2011 as a universal representation of dudes who are the worst. And, like any person grappling with immediate internet fame, Blake Boston — the man behind Scumbag Steve — tried to capitalize: merch, rap songs, public appearances.

But the full story of what happened to Blake — and his family — has never been told. The Scumbag Steve meme became a bargaining chip in a custody battle, a complicating factor in meeting his birth mother, the cause of fights with extended family members, a source of anxiety attacks, and an echo of trauma. In this episode, we go past the origin story of Scumbag Steve and learn about Blake’s real struggles with PTSD and abuse — and how trauma has brought him and his mother, Susan Boston, even closer.

Transcript

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0:00.0	WBWR's last scene is back with surprising news stories about people, places, and things
0:06.1	that have gone missing, all told by tenacious public radio storytellers who refuse to let
0:11.5	mysteries go unsolved.
0:13.7	Don't miss season 3.
0:15.1	Out now.
0:16.1	Follow last scene wherever you listen to podcasts.
0:19.8	Heads up.
0:20.8	This episode briefly mentions the sexual assault of a minor.
0:23.6	If you're concerned about hearing that, check out one of our other episodes.
0:27.2	Okay.
0:28.2	Here's the show.
0:29.2	Produced by the ILAB at WBWR Boston.
0:45.6	When he pulls up the long driveway of his parents' house in the Boston suburb of Millis, Blake
0:50.0	Boston, yes, that is his last name, appears to live up to our expectations.
0:55.3	He gets out of his white Mercedes SUV, lights a new port cigarette almost immediately,
1:01.1	and starts gesturing with a pointer finger on the same hand where he's fisting a large
1:05.9	Duncan coffee, with the ease of someone who is used to gesturing with a large Duncan
1:11.3	coffee in their hand.
1:13.1	Blake is gesturing into his mom's garage, where a small burgeoning forest of new marijuana
1:18.1	plants are turning into teenagers with the help of large black felt pots.
1:22.8	Pot in the pots.
1:23.8	There is moms.
	...

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