Progressive Transgression

Let’s stop a second and think about something. Something not very serious, not very life changing or even important. It’s just something.

I’m not normally one to talk about gaming and the general mainstream hypes, but this is something I actually think needs to be brought into light, for no other reason than to make people think further than their own nose. Yes, this hype is Pokémon GO, the mobile game that has everyone talking. But this is more than just the game, it’s more than just what it does to you and what it doesn’t. It’s about people, about judgement and ignorance. About how something so simple as walking has caused comments worldwide to the point of ridiculous statements.

As a tech guy, I come across a lot of different things, and the two main reasons I started playing Pokémon GO was to give myself an excuse to leave my house, go outside and take a walk. The second was to test it to the point of breaking, so that WHEN people came to ask me about it, I could tell them how to repair it.

I was surprised to see the positive effects of the game, however. By going outdoors, I have increased my own stamina, strength and mental constitution, but I have actually talked to total strangers, and had fun listening to the many people outside enjoying the game. It helped give laughter to myself and my online friends, as we had yet another playground for our endless banter.

But the feedback for this game hasn’t been all good, and just yesterday I heard my customer make a comment that made me want to smack him in the face.

“The people playing that game must be well retarded! Did you know, a couple of boys climbed on top of a roof and had to be rescued by the police, because they didn’t know how to get back down?! Outrageous.”

Which brings me to the reason I’m writing this in the first place. Everywhere I turn, I hear people complaining about Pokémon players trespassing, going into dangerous areas, looking at their phones and spending way too much time with their phones. Grown men who claim they can’t play Pokémon GO because of their age, but picks up their phone to play another type of phone game, like Tetris, candy crush. Restaurants and other places refusing to let people in because of the game itself. I mean, really?

When I grew up, my friends and I did a whole lot of stupid shit: climbed bus stops to see if we could scare travelers, made pea shooters to bombard passing cars, ride our bikes in the middle of the road, explore dangerous rivers because we were pretending to look for gold, jump from one stack of piled building materials to the other in a place full of rusty nails and other dangerous things. Sure, none of these are terrible crimes, but trespassing was not just a sport, it was a daily occurrence. Those who gave a damn chased us off the property, but we kept returning. Neighbors and family laughed, choking it up to “kids will be kids.”

Of course there are limits. You don’t want a 45 year old woman walking into your yard because a Pikachu was spotted in the area, or have a small child walk into a military base, but why are people so obsessed with protecting their own property?

There is no pleasing the public. When video games became more popular, the general agreement was that they were all evil. Parents have been complaining over their kids not going outdoors and getting more exorcise for more than a decade, wishing they would stop playing with their phones and PlayStations. One would have thought that parents would celebrate the fact that there is now a game that makes their children WANT to go outdoors.

And here’s the beauty of it all. Pokémon was very popular around the 90′s, and has had a steady popularity over the last 20 years. A lot of the people growing up watching this as children, now have children of their own and are likely out there exploring, just like the children. This is not only a great outdoor activity, but it teaches coordination for everything. You have to be alert of your surroundings, multitask and, if you want to put a lot of effort into it, orientation. Fun for the whole family. OUTDOORS. Like parents have been telling you to do for a very long time. And sometimes, you get a spectacular view in the process.

So now that there exists a game that does exactly what the public has been asking for, as well as making the children happy, they still find things to complain about.

But I have to ask. What the hell happened to “kids will be kids?” Instead of judging people for playing a game, remember all the stupid shit you did as a child. No one grew up never doing anything wrong. How else would you have learned the difference? Take a walk with your child, teach them what they need to learn to play the game with respect and care. Take a walk outside with them. You might be surprised at the treasures lurking just outside your own doorstep.

Businesses could earn a pretty penny embracing this free publicity, because Niantic doesn’t seem to charge anyone for playing their games or advertising for it. All around where I live, I see people putting up signs like “come drink our coffee; we are a Pokéstop!” or “Powerbanks, for your Pokémon travels!” My coworker put up a sign with Pokémon and some phone accessories, such as powerbanks and waterproof casings, and our sales went through the roof. The bench outside our store is a gym, and children of all ages are now rushing to our store to talk Pokémon with us. Being that we are currently in a financial shitstorm, this game might just have pushed us back up to where we need to be.

And this is just one example of what I have seen around town. This small shop has been unnoticed in the middle of town for a very long time, but because of this small thing, I had to stop and enter the store to see what it was about. It’s simple marketing, and it’s fucking free people!

So stop whining about trespassing and use it to your advantage. In the two weeks I have been playing this game, I have lost weight, increased my muscle mass and my flexibility, and gained a stronger immune system (because I live in Bergen and the weather gods are ruthless motherfuckers).

I am a geek. My life involves going to work to fix computers, and then come home to play video games. In TWO WEEKS I have walked 59 MILES. Really, let that sink in.

So, people, please stop bitching about someone walking into your yard for a pikachu spawn, and be happy that children are once again filling your streets with laughter and play.

My brother is asexual and was a teen before social media was a thing. My great uncle was too, and talked about it plainly starting in the 1930s(”I just don’t care about girls or boys!” he’d say)