Meet "Baby Scumbag"

"Baby Scumbag" arrested

To those of you who watched Generation Like, you've already met "Baby Scumbag".

He was a thirteen year old skater boy from Compton, California. Now, he's a fifteen year old facing sexual assault charges.

When Steven Fernandez (real name) came out on Generation Like, he talked about how YouTube was his way to help out his family. His family didn't have much, so he learned early on about how important money was. He even told Douglas Rushkoff that people need to stop worrying about followers and worry about the money. Steven was pretty modest about his popularity on YouTube and continued to hang out with the neighborhood skater boys.

His talent in skateboarding helped him achieve followers on YouTube, but his real fame came when he began to do some outrageous things to get attention. From holding random people's hands to asking out/annoying women, Steven gradually left his skateboard at home to shoot his videos.

Later, Steven admits that he's not the best skater on the block. His friend, who was a few years older, only had up to 38,000,000 views on YouTube and it was the one that featured "Baby Scumbag". When asked why he thinks he doesn't get enough views even though he is better at skateboarding, the friend flat out says that it's because he doesn't do outrageous things like Steven does.

Steven raised money through sponsorship. He was literally covered from head to toe in advertisement. His hats, shirts, shoes, skateboards, almost everything that would show up in the video, was from sponsorship. "Baby Scumbag" gladly showed off brand names because all he wanted was to earn money to support his family in any way possible.

Though his methods were skeptical and borderline assault, his intentions were pure at that time.

Few years later, in December 2015, "Baby Scumbag" was arrested at age fifteen for committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14. When his profile was released in January 2016, more victims spoke out.

I can't say I didn't see this coming. Not the assault, just the legal trouble. The videos he produced solely for attention were alarming to begin with. He seemed like a small boy trying to get some laughs at first, but soon enough, the sexual content and visuals got way too intense, way too fast. It felt like he was being sucked into this world where every girl and woman is an object with attractive features.

The way he spoke about and to women in his older videos showed that he didn't really understand what it meant to respect women and just all genders in general.

I looked up his name shortly after finishing Generation Like to see how his life is now, and the first link that popped up was a celebrity news report about Steven being involved in a sex scandal.

I have a lot to say about this, but I don't want to make this post too long, so I'll end with this comment: Children have to be taught at a young age about respect and proper behavior. Violent, aggressive, or cheeky behavior cannot be shaken off with the simple comment, "they're just kids." Kids become teenagers and teenagers become adults.

Watching this video may help you to understand what I mean:

"He Did It Because He Likes You"