With the release of the widely popular Pokémon GO app, both the Holocaust Museum and Arlington National Cemetery ask visitors to refrain from playing the game on the premise.
This comes after the revelation of both sites being locations for PokéStops, where users can acquire items and train their Pokémon. As such, there is a profound concern users will disrespect these spaces for sake of the game.
The U.S. Holocaust Museum is attempting to get Niantic Games to remove the site from the Pokémon GO app. Though no word is out on if this is successful.
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It is not too far a stretch of the imagination to see this becoming a problem for either site. Only four years ago did the Linday Stone incident spark heated debate regarding the treatment of Arlington by younger generations.
Having visited Arlington as a young man, I was appalled at how the cemetery was treated as an amusement park and not as a place of reverence and self-reflection.
Though the concept of the game is commendable, encouraging people to explore the world around them. Still, consideration for people lacking common sense is necessary. AAA is already telling people to not play the game while driving. Videos from Nerdist warn against walking into traffic for a pokémon. Imagining someone stepping over the grave of a fallen soldier is not without merit.
Hopefully this issue will reach a mutual decision between these sites and the game developer.
What are your thoughts on the matter?
