— The Washington Post, March 24
Just writing to try to quell the unrest we’ve been hearing in our ranks at the addition of the Joker to our roster of contributors. First, I want to say that you are all valued — not just seen but also heard, unlike a child in the Victorian era. We appreciate the years you’ve put in and the sacrifices you’ve made for this organization. Please don’t be mad we hired the Joker! It’s stressing us out.
Gotham is going through a trying time. And who better to help us understand what’s really at play here than the Clown Prince of Crime? We were looking through our roster, and someone on our board asked, “Are any of the contributors not just clowns but also criminals?” and we were forced to admit that, no, in fact, we had no one whatsoever from that demographic. “Seems like an oversight,” the board said, and we agreed.
We have lots of contributors who all say the same thing. It feels almost monotonous!
“Bad things are happening in Gotham, and it seems as though the shadowy syndicate of which the Joker is a part is to blame for them.”
“The Joker does not have the welfare of the people of Gotham at heart, and he personally threatened my uncle on his barge commute.”
“The Joker took one of my pencils to do what he described as a magic trick, and when he ultimately returned it, I did not want it.”
“The Joker does not deserve airtime! He cannot be trusted!”
But with the Joker as part of our contributors, we can also hear the additional perspective: “I am the Joker!” Can we say we’re a balanced outlet if that perspective is missing?
Since the Joker’s hiring, we have received various concerns and questions from our employees:
- Why are we finding resources to hire a man who has a track record of trying to undermine Gotham’s stability and well-being?
- Does he have anything sufficiently worthwhile to offer to offset his history of making us all feel uncomfortable and nervous as we went about our jobs?
- Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight? (For transparency’s sake, this one does in fact come from the Joker.)
To respond point by point:
- We have more money than we let on, but it is all in an area of the budget earmarked for Jokers and, to an approximately equivalent extent, Artificial Intelligence That Your Boss Thinks Can Do Your Job Because Your Boss Has Imperfectly Understood What It Is You Do.
- When we interviewed him, he said something about madness and gravity that struck our board as really profound, and we wanted to hear more. Also, we asked him, “When you threatened the people of Gotham, was that serious?” and he said it was what he felt like saying at the time but didn’t reflect the real him, so we felt reassured. He’s cool now, guys!
- No, but I’m open to it! Sounds fun!
I just think we run a risk of creating an echo chamber if we don’t actively seek out voices like the Joker’s. Currently, if we asked our panelists about Batman, we would get answers like “Batman is a vigilante, and that gives me pause,” or “Batman is the hero we deserve but not the one we need right now,” or “I disagree, Chuck; Batman is the hero we need right now but not the one we deserve.”
All very interesting, but not the full range of discussion that’s going on in Gotham living rooms. With the addition the Joker to our roster of Gotham News Team contributors, we can hear “I would like to murder Batman, personally, but first, I want to force him to break his one rule!”
To me, that’s a valuable perspective to have. Currently, our panels lack balance: We have three or four people on them who want the world not to burn but nobody who wants the world to burn while he watches.
With the addition of the Joker, we will rectify this. It’s good, guys! Why so serious?
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