Gus Mueller, the subject of my Surfin’ article regarding the First Amendment, was kind enough to do a quick Q & A session with me by way of email.KB: Has the FBI been in contact with you since the April 19 incident?
Gus: No, I suspect I embarrassed them.
KB: Do you expect that they will continue to monitor your activities?
Gus: Probably, because they tend to be vindictive and apply their vast resources (your tax dollars) in response to simple human emotions, not with rational deliberation.
KB: Why do you think it took so long for them to take notice of the Trenchcoat page, and yet not examine the rest of your website to understand the satire?
Gus: Perhaps under the leadership of the new Attorney General John Ashcroft, they were told to start cracking down on some of these websites that the Clinton Administration had been letting slide.
KB: Will you continue to satirize national tragedies, exposing the media’s gullibility and the government’s ineptitude regarding free speech?
Gus: Oh definitely. It’s a lot of fun.
KB: It seems that the Trenchcoat page has gained the greatest amount of infamy concerning your satirical actions. Would that be correct?
Gus: Yes, probably because it pushed the envelope of what is allowable. I have to admit that even I am uncomfortable with the racist lingo and Hitler talk on that page.
KB: You were fired last year from College Club for your online journal. Are you concerned that your current employer may be less than thrilled with your online actions as well?
Gus: It’s a risk I take. My resume is on Monster.com. In general, though, I don’t have much bad to say about my workplace. They’re a flailing dotcom and one has to expect it to suck a little.
KB: It seems common sense that employers should not be allowed to fire anyone whose ideas and morals and philosophies do not coincide with whoever is charge of the company, but do you think it has become more difficult for people to lead “private” lives on the web so as not be given the boot?
Gus: Bosses can fire people for anything. The key is to make yourself indispensible, that’s the ticket to artistic freedom.
KB: Do you hope to bring awareness of the government’s unjust perception of the First Amendment, or are your actions merely to expose how gullible the media can be when a “national tragedy” occurs?
Gus: I love being a 1st Amendment martyr, but I also love to tweak people and fool the media. It’s all in good fun and the result is a more nuanced, intelligent society.