THE YES MEN AND ACTIVISM IN THE INFORMATION ... - Index of

computers) creating a blockage of information flow. 116 The attempt made on the Republican
Convention was ultimately ineffective, however, despite reports by the Electronic Disturbance
Theater (EDT) that over 300,000 protesters participated in the virtual sit-in. 117
The Critical Arts Ensemble (CAE), an artist/activist group that straddles the line between
traditional and digital protest, has placed classic civil disobedience within the digital realm. As
with the EDT’s call to action against the 2004 Republican Convention, the protest retains the
original notion of “blockage,” which in the physical world pertains to bodies, but in the virtual
world pertains to information. Whereas in the physical realm blockage is obtained by sheer mass
and numbers, in the digital arena, bulk is often rendered useless by the sheer separation between
participants. 118 So, EDT’s virtual sit-in of the Republican Convention, even though there were
over 300,000 protesters at their computers, did not have the intended impact. In that case, the
network worked against the activists. With the Yes Men, however, the smaller numbers work in
their favor. Only a handful of people (skilled in certain areas) are required to run the websites and
provide the anti-corporate, anti-globalization propaganda.
116 Jordan and Taylor, 71.
117 Electronic Disturbance Theater, “Stop Wars.”
118 Jordan and Taylor, 71. The Critical Arts Ensemble is an artist group dedicated to hacktivism, social, and
political awareness. Recently, Steven Kurtz of the CAE has been under investigation by the FBI for possible
bioterrorism concerning petrie dishes and test tubes used in his artwork, which were found by EMS perssonnel in
his home when Kurtz’s wife Hope died overnight on May11, 2004. The charges of bioterrorism were dropped and
replaced by charges of mail and wire fraud, which are still pending. More information may be obtained at
http://www.caedefensefund.org/.
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