Raven Droppings

In hindsight, it's no wonder I became the shutter-bug I am today, enjoying wildlife photography the most.  And now that I'm an adult, I plan on going on my own Australian photo safari someday!  Someday!! Just need to amass enough money.

Encountered this while playing PokemonGo last night.  We...didn’t choose to stay in this “hot spot”.

The only people I've seen saying/posting disparaging things about PokemonGo are people who 1) haven't played the game, 2) don't have a clue what Pokemon are/is, 3) have only read internet articles about a handful of people doing dumb things, half of which are fake stories (because clearly a handful of people doing dumb things out of millions of people using the app means the game is bad). Then it hit me. If people are doing this with a game, a goddamn harmless /game/ then what does that tell you about how people form negative opinions in general? About other people? Cultures? Races? Political parties? Sexual identities? Hobbies? Practices? World views? People who haven't even played PokemonGo are ridiculing it, calling it dangerous, and citing fake articles online. This line of thinking seriously bothers me, because it's not limited to a game. This line of thinking extends to any "not me" group and divides people. Thankfully the people actually playing PokemonGo are experiencing a fantastic sense of community and togetherness, something we desperately need right now, when so many forces are trying to tear us apart. Paradoxically, lots of the people I see posting negative opinions about PokemonGo participate in hobbies or activities that are ridiculed by others in the same exact ways (waste of time, could be doing something better, who cares, that's weird, etc). Their hobbies/activities are also ridiculed for the same reason they are ridiculing a game, because other people don't have a damn clue, read bad information about it, and form hollow opinions without actually having experienced it. So just....stop. Let people enjoy this. No one is forcing you to play the game. Let people discover their communities, new friends/kindred spirits, neat landmarks, local nature, and get some needed exercise without raining self-superiority bullshit on top of them. If you feel it's necessary to dislike something because it's popular or because you don't understand it...take a good long, hard look in the mirror and ask yourself if that world view is helping or harming those around you.