What's charitable giving like in Gotham?

[yendi]

I attended the wonderful V-Day performance last night (which featured shadesong in a small role), and as 'song, her LJ-less work colleague and I were getting ready to walk home, 'song was looking for her iPod. Her colleague commented about how much it would suck to have something stolen at a charity event.

Which got me to thinking about Gotham City. Because every villain in the town spends time robbing charity balls. It's pretty much the major MO of The Riddler, Scarecrow, The Joker (in his saner moments), Penguin, Two Face, and Poison Ivy, and it's a minor habit for Mr. Freeze and The Ventriloquist (the one who died; I haven't followed the more recent incarnation) as well as most of the folks who end up as muscle for the others (Killer Croc, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Harley Quinn, etc). Pretty much everyone but Ra's al Ghul does time robbing the rich at charity functions in Gotham.

So, why, exactly, does anyone in Gotham go to a charity ball? Are they unconcerned that they'll be one of the folks robbed? Are they so rich and jaded that they need the thrill of having The Joker threaten them? Do they secretly hope to meet Batman? Or is there some sort of Gotham tax break for being robbed by supervillains?

Me? If I were filthy rich in Gotham, I'd just write some checks. And move to Metropolis, where at least the primary villain is likely to hold the charity functions himself.

(And yes, I know that the "robbing a charity ball" gimmick is really a way to ensure that philanthropist Bruce Wayne is nearby. I'm not asking about the metafictional aspects, just the fictional ones.)

Comments

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

Well, I can't speak fictionally, but I can speak for reality, and the fact is, charity events are "social" events for the rich - meaning they are places to see and be seen. Thus the reason they keep showing up even though the chances of some hooligan coming along and disrupting things are high.

If they don't show up, they won't get their picture taken and they won't have a chance at being mentioned in the society section of the newspaper and the gossip columns.

[yendi]

True, but why wear Great Aunt Kathy's Priceless Pearls, which, when a thug attempts to take them away from you, causes you to resist, leading to getting Joker gassed?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

It's because the amount of money you lose to criminals by having criminals show up and grab your wallets and jewels is TRIVIAL compared to the amount of money you lose by handing over the size of check you're expected to hand over, to an organization which spends over 95% of its budget on overhead, like luxury charity balls.

When you're going to those things, you've already made your decision to give lots of money to criminals. The wallets and jewelry are statistically insigificant, and just not worth consideration.

[yendi]

Having attended at least one major charity gala, I know that they can be run without eating up a huge chunk of the overhead, if they're run well (and the services of the hotel/caterer/auctioneer/etc are obtained as a donation of services, or as a minor investment based on the returns from the event).

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Do you honestly think that large-scale charity organizations are actually run honestly and efficiently in Gotham City? Nothing else is.

Just because it can be, and is, done in the REAL world doesn't mean that it would be done in Gotham.

[feste-sylvain.livejournal.com]

Don't leave us in suspense: did shadesong find her iPod?

[gingicat]

My impression is that the charitable fundraisers that get hit are the ones where there's likely to be some big unveiling of some kind. So people get lulled into security by going to lots of little and medium-size fundraisers, and forget...

Now I'm wondering if fundraising walks, runs, and bike rides ever get hit... there was one for an organization I used to work for where there was a raffle for a bicycle donated by Lance Armstrong. It turned out to be a white elephant, but there's still a plot idea there...

[thegreatjohnzo.livejournal.com]

wait, mr freeze died? since when? how did it happen? wikipedia is lying to me!

and obligatory pun about that not being "an ice day" for him.

[yendi]

Bad editing on my part; it was the Ventriloquist who died (and who should have had the parenthetical statement attached).

[allroads.livejournal.com]

Oh you think you want to live in Metropolis.
Say that after Big Blue tosses Parasite through your office building.
Do you like Lost? Sometimes Livewire thinks it's a great idea to take out all the power in the city right in the middle of it.
You don't want to call Allstate after your SUV is hurled at Gorilla Grodd. I mean I'd complain but I'm afraid I'd get chucked into the sun by some super-powered jackass with a hair curl.