Old Man Jello Biafra Posts Video Rant Against Selfies

Stuff You Will Hate has re-posted a long-winded video rant by punk legend Jello Biafra, who I generally find to be a rad dude. But the first sign that things are going wrong, as Sergeant D points out, is that the video is filmed vertically… yikes.

Here’s the thing: Mr. Biafra is not wrong. Watching people pause on the street in NYC to take selfies is bad enough, but I can only imagine that when you’re a well-known person and people want to take selfies with you it’s that much worse. Moreso during so at a sensitive event like Dave Brockie’s funereal, fer chrissakes!!

But ranting against selfies is to rant against “kids these days,” and not only makes him seem out of touch but could alienate his fans. And maybe he’s alright with that — it’s a pretty punk rock attitude to have. But watching this video is all sorts of cringe-worthy, and mostly just makes me feel embarrassed for him. Kids always have and always will do stupid things, and railing against technology has proved a consistently fruitless endeavor throughout history.