This was to represent them more honestly than they represent themselves. 

They don't really talk about why they don't clean up Bhopal--they just say 

they're not obliged to. Let's clear the air, get the facts on the table, 

and then make up our minds what to do.

What were your expectations? Did you think the press would jump on it,

like they did?

Secretly and in a dirty interior way, we hoped that the press would report

the story as real--that Dow was really talking like this. We didn't really

know what to expect if they didn't, and indeed it was a surprise that it

got as much press as it did. Plus the voices of acclaim from the laity

were more than a gratification! More than for any other stuff that we've

done!

Is this (the Voice article) the first major press you’ve received? 

Oh no! See www.theyesmen.org/finland, there are some articles there. Plus 

outfit "rtmark" has a big list of articles that have been written about 

us. They're sort of our press attendants.

Is that always, or ever, a goal of your work? Or do you feel that too

much public attention could be a detriment to your work?

Well, if we got the wrong type of attention it would be a detriment. Like

if we were lynched by pro-war militia members or something, we'd be out of

commission entirely for a while. But there's nothing delicate about us,

nor about our work. We are not ice sculptors, nor poodle portraitists. We

are thugs.

When and how did the yesmen form as a group or organization?

November 1999. Seattle. That is, Seville and New York (that is where we

were at the time, when we launched). But really it was Seattle, because it 

was the Seattle protests that launched us.

Do you really have three hundred people in your collective? Are you

still growing in numbers?

More than that! We are modest! We grow consistently and forever!

Is there a physical home or official headquarters for the yesmen?

Physical home: http://www.jwa-se.com/physical.htm

Besides that, no!

Your work is extremely political. How are projects conceived and

developed?

Happenstance! Purely happenstance. Something happens, we take a stance. 

That's it!

From what I know of your work, it’s very anti-corporation/big-business.

Do you have personal experience here that you’re drawing from? Where do

your political views come from?

We have all read books, but we have all also worked in corporate settings, 

I'm afraid. I myself worked at McDonald's for 3.5 hours when I was 19. It 

was very upsetting, I had to leave. I did not pick up my paycheck, which 

means that today McDonald's may well owe me about $10.

Do you ever encounter internal political conflicts with regards to your

work, and the direction it takes?

Nausea occurs sometimes. For example, this morning's press release was not 

up to par. It remained internal, and so far as I know no one actually 

vomited.

I’ve said that I think of your work as a kind of theater/activism. I’m

not asking for a label, but, do you define it as art?

No, we define it as movies. There's more money in movies.

Mike used the word satire in describing your work. I definitely see the

satirical nature of it. Can we talk about this some?

Let us talk!

In example, the for-mentioned press release, who is the audience? The

press? Dow employees? Myself, and the people who read the Village Voice

article? Or all of the above?

The latter! That is, you and those who read the VV and other press organs. 

The press may therefore be the immediate audience, because their audience 

(you) is what is important. In fact yes, it is they (the press) who is our 

audience.

What is your intention or desire for your audience?

The press being our audience, we hope they use our material to convey our 

(and their) ideas to *their* audience.

When I checked out your website, the first thing that struck me was:

they have a great sense of humor. The last time I laughed that hard, I

was at the real Dow site. Do you think it’s important to maintain your

sense of humor when dealing with all the political stuff you deal with?

Yes! It's important from an internal-relations point of view--so that

nausea does not result in outright vomiting--and also for

external-relations purposes: because our audience is hte press, and the

press can only write about something if it's (a) exceptionally important,

(b) terribly violent, or (c) funny. We can only do (c), from the

mainstream point of view at least.

Is any of your work not political? In other words, do you ever do stuff

for fun, like just for the hell of it mirror Britney Spears’ website?

That would not be so fun. Not for me, anyhow, as I am a homosexual and do

not find her appealing in a do-it-for-fun sort of way. As for the 

homosexually appealing equivalents--Leonardo di Caprio or whatever--I must 

simply say: yuck.

We do everything that we do for fun, however: everything. We never do

anything just because we have to. We crave the do-it-for-fun type rewards.

There are plenty of people far more committed than we are, willing to do

very important things without the kinds of do-it-for-fun type rewards that

we crave.

Do the yesmen have any projects that do not involve the internet?

Oh yes! www.theyesmen.org/finland, /wto, /tro, /cnbc .... Plus now we work 

on a book and also a movie (rather, we help on a movie about us).

You’ve been called ‘pranksters.’ Are there moral dilemmas for you with

the work that you do? If so, how do ethics play into any philosophies

the yesmen hold?

At its best, the playing-tricks-on-people sort of work that we do 

illuminates things. At its worst, it muddles things up. We prefer to do 

well than to do badly. When we do well, we have no moral dilemmas. When we 

do badly, we do.

What kind of stuff can we look forward to from the yesmen?

Movies! Action toys! Organic food chains!

What is your vision for the future or direction of your organization?

We would like to expand tremendously. We would like a great many more

people to irritate the conveyors of global destruction in the fun way we

do. These recruits should not come from the ranks of those already doing

great work as organizers, legal researchers, and protesters, but from

those who agree with the protesters but sit home and daydream. Those can

do the sorts of things that we do.