The Scuppie Manifesto

What the hell is a Scuppie? It's stuck somewhere between a grundgy Hippie and a money hungry Yuppie...

The term Scuppie was coined by Chuck Failla, the president of a Manhattan-based financial planning firm.

“Gordon Gekko has gone green”, says Failla. “These days, more Americans not only want to live well, but want to also do good, or at least do no evil. They still love money and conspicuous displays of affluence. But now, the way to achieve status is to trade in the Beemer for a Toyota Prius, spend $50,000 putting solar panels on the roof, and acquire a chic new wardrobe fashioned entirely of hemp, soy fiber, and recycled tires.”

Failla coined the term Scuppie one day at his office when a co-worker overheard one of his phone conversations.

“She asked whether I had picked up a new client. When I explained that I was doing some pro-bono work for a homeless organization, she shot a skeptical glance at my Armani suit and Rolex, and responded, only half-jokingly, that she couldn’t believe a ‘Yuppie scum’ like me would do anything for free,” says Failla. “That momentarily threw me for a loop, but then I had an epiphany.”

Failla responded to his accuser, “Hey, it’s entirely possible to be socially conscious and desire upward mobility at the same time."

It is the unalienable right of every man, woman and child to wear stylish, 100 percent organic, sweatshop-free cotton apparel, and to feel befittingly righteous about it. Why? Because there should be no need to choose between a car’s speed and fuel economy; comfort and conservation; luxury and sustainability.

Looking, acting and being a Scuppie isn’t just for politically correct movie stars, shaggy-haired high-tech gazillionaires and those lucky few who can afford to endow entire hospital wings in Africa or convert their Porsche Cayenne SUVs to run on hydrogen. Neither is social consciousness only for impassioned ascetics who distain flush toilets, subsist on tofu and brown rice, and yearn for the eventual overthrow of the capitalist system. You don’t have to be a zealot or a dilettante, just somebody who wants to make the world a better place—and to be comfortable, well-fed and stylish while doing it.

Do Scuppies want to save the Earth? Sure, but, they certainly want to enjoy themselves while saving it -- they do not believe in compromise. Eco-friendly does not mean pleasure-barren. Impossible? Not at all...

Read more Scup-a-ganda and check out some funny Scuppie graphics at www.scuppie.com.