East Village Resident Says Let Yuppies Live

Former Misfits guitarist Bobby Steele says “Die Yuppie Scum” is hate speech and he’s started removing posters that bear the slogan. Enter East Village activist Jerry the Peddler: "[Jerry] asked what I thought I was doing, and I showed him the poster and explained that it was hate speech and shouldn’t be tolerated. He acknowledged that I was right — it was hate speech, and, he added, ‘I hate Yuppies.’ I told him he had no right to call for their death, as I reached to take down another of his hate-filled posters. He grabbed my left hand — technically an assault — and bent my finger back. ‘I’ll break your fingers, so that you’ll never play guitar again, and if I see anymore of these posters down…I’ll kill you,’ he said." [The Villager]

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By John Del Signore in News on August 5, 2008 4:35 PM

Comments [rss]

cucarachita

Yeah, France66, you actually don't need to know because yuppies are totally obsolete! They're no longer yuppies, they're currently already old farts living somewhere else and getting new knees and removing bits of their colons!

It's hipsters that should be the target of this guy's hate speech, if hate speech he must pronounce against anyone.

He's a relic, himself now! That's hard to stomach! Probably what makes him so violent, poor slob.

Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids!

france66

can someone please tell me what a yuppie is?

blablanyc

A yuppie activist is a person way of making a difference is by supporting Obama, owning a bike, and buying from green markets. Meanwhile paying high rents or paying a gazillion dollars for a condo. Nonsensical.

cornholioNYC

old misfits

robingee

I hate suburban hip-hip polka-dancing cowboy pirates!

Tgirl

[24] yupsters, a yuppie hipster

rdsizzle

Yuppies are so 80's / early 90's. Now its urbanites which is like a yuppie 2.0 or kind of a hybride between a yuppie and an activist.

spenguind

"I've got something to say... I killed your baby today"... now he's tearing down hate posters?

JRod5417

Wishing death to yuppies seems so retro and nonsensical. So, if someone is born and raised in NYC and they have a career earning enough money to live decently, they should move to the suburbs. Imagine what a dump every city would be if that were the case.

Nick S

sigh. sounds like its time for Jerry to pull up stakes and start looking elsewhere. The dream is over, man..move on.

twakum

I bet Jerry lives in a rent-controlled apartment. I wonder if he would stop me from putting up "Rent Controlled Scum Must Die" posters. Dude, you should be living in a trailer in western Jersey.

blablanyc

I can't stand Bobby. He must have suffered some severe brain damage when he would get his ass beaten.

johncharles2020

Yes it is clear Jerry was not right to put his hands on this guy- yet do not let this take away from what he is saying and doing-manhattan in this case east vill is morphing into a caricature of what it was and stood for this is due to the increasing real estate money being put here which of course forces long time residents out weather that means working class folks or counter culture people so if this guy Jerry is fighting against this tough tough fight and he got a little angry and bent someones pinky finger well he should agologize and move onward and upward in his fight gainst yuppie scum-

smacky

YEA! BROKEN YUPPIE FINGERS!

NannyState

I take it Bobby Steele was a no-show at Tompkins Square the other day.

seaanemoneman

Technically, a battery.

Sinchy

This steele guy has a legit beef with the peddler and the "die yuppy scum" motto but in his op-ed he smears all the good people left and right who are against this war, by saying

"This is the true antiwar movement. These are the peace activists that you see when you turn on your TV and see a report about a protest or riot in New York City: 'Support the antiwar movement — or we’ll kill you.'"

This Jerry the Peddler does not = the anti war movement any more than Steele represents punk rock.

ganghiscon

Who cares if suburban kids like The Misfits?

All this "kill this guy" and "kill that guy" is worse than shopping at Hot Topic.

Above should have been italicized.

ganghiscon

Who cares if suburban kids like The Misfits?

All this "kill this guy" and "kill that guy" is worse than shopping at Hot Topic.

Not to mention the Misfits are from Lodi, NJ. A suburb, no?

Bobby Steele was only briefly in the band and is most notable for being kicked out.

Splicer

And there you have it - another well-adjusted activist.

TheKlaus

I can't believe the guy who played in the band that wrote the tune Last Caress has a problem with 'hate speech'.

I guess Die Die Die My Darling is OK Bobby?

JacqueMehoff

and take your handbag tote dogs with you.

jaycjay

hopefully he'll press charges

Certainly that's what a yuppie would do.

robingee

Who cares if suburban kids like The Misfits?

All this "kill this guy" and "kill that guy" is worse than shopping at Hot Topic.

sidenote

Ha, +1 zodak.

ChampionOfTheSun

I'd be fine with, "Go Live in the 'Burbs, Yuppie Scum!"

fakenewyorker

i wonder how he feels that suburban kids who shop at hot topic wear misfits t shirts.

plk779

Man, life is too hard to go around hating and worrying all the time. Everyone just needs to relax.

zodak

hopefully he'll press charges & the cops will do something about this jerry guy, but to be sure he should tell the police that jerry was on his bicycle at the time.