Pokemon, go.

I’m not sure I get why Pokemon Go is suddenly such a big deal. I’ve been saying “Pokemon, go!” for about ten years. That’s how long this Mew has been hanging from an ancient plant hook in our dining room ceiling. 

Our kids were never that into Pokemon. But they ran across this strange guy one time and hung it in the dining room just to bug me. It didn’t actually bug me…until it stayed, and stayed, and stayed. I’ve tried taking it down and hiding it, but it always comes back. There’s even a red ribbon in one of the Christmas decoration boxes that someone sneakily ties around his neck every December. 

Like most of the rest of the world, Pokemon Go has been unavoidable around here this week. There’s a Magmar (which, interestingly, is an old German Lutheran name) just outside the main door of our ELCA Lutheran church, and that has increased our drive-through traffic by about 100% – we already tend to be a cut-through for people trying to avoid stoplights. I don’t see how a church can complain about traffic being driven to its doors, but this phenomenon is just a bit “out there.” Driving and hunting for a Pokemon while staring at a cell phone – in a spot were old folks and families with small children are likely to be coming in and out – just seems like a rotten idea. 

And then there was the news today that the Holocaust Museum in D.C. has had to put up signs saying Pokemon Go is not to be played on its premises. Wow, people really have no sense of respect or decorum. 

I’m not against the game. Really. I think it kind of sounds like fun. And the barista at the coffee shop I visited this morning was so excited about it her enthusiasm was totally contagious. I just think there needed to be a whole lot more thought put into the consequences. 

But that’s pretty much the story of our world today, huh?

 

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