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Scumbag Steve Shows How To Handle Negative Internet Fame

The past few weeks have been interesting for Blake Boston, the Massachusetts resident that had his life turned upside down when an image macro using his likeness went viral last month.

The past few weeks have been interesting for Blake Boston, the Massachusetts resident that had his life turned upside down when an image macro using his likeness went viral last month. A photo from 2006 had text overlaid associating him with various unsavory behaviors, resulting in the birth of a new meme called “Scumbag Steve”.

An interview with Know Your Meme was posted yesterday that put the initially reluctant Internet sensation in an entirely different light, revealing the real man behind the image macro to be a pretty decent guy after all.

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My real name is Blake Boston, I’m 21. I go to school full time at night and work full time during days at a job where I make sh*t for money. I’m tryin’ to get on my grind cuz I have a baby boy on the way. Really, all I do is work and school and try to split time between family, my girl and my brothers.

The images depicting Blake stealing your wallet, lighter and weed begin to lose their appeal in light of this new information, and in an amazing meme reversal, “Cool Guy Steve” and “Selfless Steve” were spawned. These use the same photo of Blake standing in the hallway staring blankly into the camera, but with text depicting him engaging in acts of altruism, rather than petty theft.

In reponse, a Redditor posted this image depicting Scumbag Steve’s final act of scumbaggery:

While the original joke may end up dying, this has provided an interesting case study in how to approach sudden Internet fame. If you show some humility, don’t take yourself too seriously, and laugh at the situation, the Internet may end up showing you mercy.

Perhaps the Star Wars Kid and Aleksey Vayner could have taken a lesson or two from Blake Boston.

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