Yesterday I was sitting outside at a cafe in the Bötzowviertel when a tatooed skater guy road by and blurted out, "Schwabenficker!", which translates roughly as F**K YOU YUPPIES. In typical passive-aggressive fashion, he did this as he was in full motion and without actually looking at any of us.

I retorted with a, "You go, Green Day!" but I'm not sure he heard me let alone understood the implications of my Green Day slur.

I then noted his Vision skateboard, Diamond Back BMX bike and Eastpack backpack and thought: Dude, check yer own glasshouse before you go tossing molotovs. It's even more absurd when you know what it costs to cover 85% of your body in ink (about as much as a small car).

But then it started to bug me because what he said also included a regional reference: Swabians (English for Schwaben) are people that live in Swabia, roughly the area around Stuttgart. It's one of the richest regions in Germany and Berliners love to blame them for the city's woes (as in, they come in and buy everything up and raise prices until no one can afford anything. Obviously, the people who use this slur are a bit gray on the mechanics of a free market).

Whitewashing (pun intended) people with stereotypes in Berlin -- or Germany -- always gives me an uneasy feeling. Did that dude learn nothing in school?

Anyway, I'm sure when his buddies aren't looking he turns up not just the Green Day, but probably Coldplay.