There just some places where one shouldn’t play Pokémon, namely Arlington, the U. S. Holocaust Museum, and the Auschwitz Memorial in Poland, all designated as Pokestops in the wildly popular game. Players have been asked to refrain from playing at each site and both the Holocaust Museum and the Auschwitz Memorial have requested that Niantic remove them from them from the game as Pokestops on the grounds that using sites dedicated to victims of the Holocaust for gaming purposes is highly disrespectful. Being Jewish, being human, I agree. Apparently the players weren’t content to play the game, which was bad enough, as it trivialized a place which was a death camp (in the case of Auschwitz). They also had to take selfies while doing so and act in other inappropriate ways that were even more disruptive and disrespectful. So far Niantic hasn’t commented on their requests. I understand that churches are also usual Pokestops. ( I happen to live on street with 3 major churches and had a friend enthuse about each.) As an atheist, I don’t hold religion sacred. But many do. Should their churches start getting invaded by Pokémon players, they will be upset. I’m not a player and don’t know the mechanics of the game. Surely there is a way to play unobtrusively? I’m suggesting to Pokémon players that you be aware of your environment and pay heed, indeed, be courteous, analogous to keeping quiet in a library. This will go a long way towards improving the somewhat tarnished image of gamers.
Addendum: On Pokestops and churches: Raising Christian paranoia to a new level, Trunews host Rick Wiles has been speculating both that Satan is targeting churches with “virtual, digital, cyber-demons” and that Islamic jihadists might somehow acquire an app that shows them where Christians are located. Snort! I wonder if he thinks emojis are demonic, too? And do jihadists really NEED an app for that?