Game Trance

Pokedada: Pokemon and quedada (meeting) rolled into one. That's what happened yesterday in Madrid's Parque del Retiro. Hundreds of Pokemon players gathered there to catch Pokemons. Scared of the ultimate damage that might ensue upon lawns, flower beds, bushes, trees, and historical buildings, the mayor tried to get the gathering moved to Puerta del Sol, an area encased in stone, cement, and asphalt. Above all, there's a good amount of police patrolling the area all day and night, and it would avoid any accidental drowning in the small lake at the park. But the crowd decided to mostly remain in the Retiro. It was too hot for asphalt.

Here, in my little town, young people have also been found staring at their cell phones as they move in a trance-like state. They've always done so to a certain extent, but with this game that has been upgraded to a more common state of being. Fights and disagreements have popped up over a colorful image showing up on more than one phone that someone else "captured." 

I don't understand the furor. When Pokemon was something on television, I didn't watch it with my daughter. I could never get into it. We've never had the video game, either; we're not into video games. And I can't understand how people like to spend most of their days wandering around town, fields, seashores, and public buildings looking at their phone, to "catch" strange little figures that pop up. I can understand going bonkers over a video game, and spending hours playing it, but it's a game. This new fad is trying to turn reality into something unreal. And some of the results can be dangerous. Because reality is not a game. It can be fun if we make it so, but it's still not a game.

And so, people have wandered onto private property where they shouldn't be, like two people who had to climb up a pole to avoid the raging bull whose field they wandered into. Or young boys who followed their cell phones into a series of caves where they promptly got lost and had to be rescued. Or someone who was so immersed in the game, that he lost touch with the reality he was walking in and walked off a cliff. Or the other idiot who thought he could reach a Pokemon faster while driving and drove into a tree because it's difficult to drive looking at the GPS images in the game rather than looking through the windshield. 

And then there are those who don't play, don't understand, and don't care. Those, who, seeing suspicious movement on their property, reach for a gun to frighten off a "burglar." It happened in Florida, where a man who noticed strangers on his property, and heard one asking, "Did you get it?" thought they were trying to break into his house, and fired at them. Luckily, they weren't hurt. But some gamers have wandered into not-so-kosher areas of towns, and  have been stabbed and robbed. Then there are also those who take advantage of the fad, as police in Scotland once tweeted, "It's not acceptable to say you're hunting a Pokemon while standing on the roof of a shop with a crowbar at 2AM." Other police departments, whose buildings have been designated as "gyms" (whatever that is) have had to put notices by the door telling hunters they don't need to enter the actual building. Some museums have also asked hunters to refrain from hunting inside, such as the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Even cemeteries, such as Arlington National Cemetery, have been invaded. A hospital in Holland has asked hunters not to wander inside looking for the sick Pokemon, saying that their patients need rest and quiet.  

Some claim that this game is a good way to get couch potatoes outside and walking. It's true that some people have left the warm secure cave they had in front of the computer or game console in their homes and taken in some fresh air. Others have even lost weight wandering around for hours, trying to find those pesky Pokemons. But, wouldn't it be better if they looked up from their phone screens and saw the real world, instead? Some of these people just might be surprised at all the hyper-reality they won't find in their cell phones. They might even find they like interacting with real people.