Pokémon Go is quickly becoming one of the world’s most popular smart phone apps. Finally, after years of resentment and frustration, people are now excited to go out of their way and stumble across a Pidgey or Rattata.
However, while they aren’t banning it, some places are now asking visitors to stop chasing Charmanders or Pikachus on their grounds.
We do not consider playing "Pokemon Go" to be appropriate decorum on the grounds of ANC. We ask all visitors to refrain from such activity.
— Arlington National Cemetery (@ArlingtonNatl) July 12, 2016
“OH MY GOODNESS!” “What?” “There’s a Hitmonchan by the tomb of the Unknown Soldier!” “Let’s go get it!”
Sadly, there was probably a conversation along those lines that occurred at Arlington National Cemetery before they sent out that tweet.
The fact that the cemetery had to publish that tweet at all is ridiculous. There’s a time and place for everything, and that includes not chasing after virtual reality Pokémon while walking along rows of soldiers who died fighting for freedom in the United States.
Arlington isn’t the first big public “attraction” to renounce Pokémon Go users. The United States Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. has had to ask visitors to not play the game there as well.
It’s sad that a museum like that has to actually ask visitors not to look at their phones. After all, learning about arguably one of the worst tragedies in human history is more important than a virtual Pokémon.
The issue isn’t just happening in the United States either. At the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum, which is located on the grounds of the death camp, in Poland, they have had to ask people to stop playing the game as well.
Associate Dean of The Simon Wisenthal Center Rabbi Abraham Cooper spoke with USA Today about the issue. While the Rabbi admitted virtual reality could be useful for interviewing Holocaust survivors or creating holographic versions of their stories, there’s a line that needs to be drawn.
“This can’t be another chapter, it can’t be another scavenger hunt. That’s a desecration of the memory of the victims and it’s a cheapening of the history,” Cooper said when talking about Pokémon Go at the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The best case scenario? The company behind the app, Niantic, fixes the settings so that no Pokémon can be found or the game can’t be used at specific places. Yes that would take a lot of work, but it’s worth it. Once again, learning about the soldiers who died fighting for freedom in the United States or the millions of Jews who perished is more important than catching a virtual reality Pokémon.
[USA Today/Washington Post/Photo: Nintendo]
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