Why are Poke-stops at sacred landmarks across the world?

Pokémon GO.

Unless you are living under a rock, you probably know exactly what those two words mean.

If not, let me try to explain it to.

Pokémon Go is a game for iPhone and Android where users can walk around and collect Pokémon characters that are placed at various locations. Users can use their camera to walk around and catch Pokémon at real life locations. For instance, you can walk down your street and see a Pikachu sitting in your driveway, or a Bulbasaur in front of your neighbor’s bird feeder.

One thing that comes with Pokémon Go is something called a “Pokéstop.” At these, users can find rare items, such as eggs, potions, and other items.

The creators of the game have chosen landmarks all over the world to be home to these Pokéstops, but some of these locations are not places the creators think they are.

Some of these locations include the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, the Auschwitz museum in Poland, and the grave of Vicki Soto, a teacher killed during the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

In a statement for CNNMoney, the director of communications for the Holocaust Memorial Museum wrote, “Playing Pokémon Go in a memorial dedicated to the victims of Nazism is extremely inappropriate.” The museum is currently working towards removing the museum from the game.

The locations of these Pokéstops are randomized, and Ninantic, the creators of the game, used data they collected from their previous game, Ingress, to choose the locations of the Pokéstops.

I spoke with several Pokémon Go players about what they thought.

Vincent Boccanfuso, Syracuse, New York

“It deters me from wanting to go to those stops. You can check the stop by tapping it in the game, and it pulls up information on the stop. As someone who has a general idea of common sense, I understand that those are disrespectful to the landmark, so out of respect I simply wouldn’t go there. Even simply just a graveyard. Nothing special about this one, but it’s a sacred place where people were laid to rest… Not have a game played on them.”

(There is a Pokéstop location at a graveyard near his apartment.)

Jenn Harrington, New York, New York

“I’ve seen the news articles about the Holocaust Museum, etc. and I think it’s wrong that people are going to these sacred landmarks, places that represent so much intense sadness, destruction, or places that have such important memory are being turned into playgrounds. I wouldn’t use the game at any of these places and I don’t blame them for being upset. Most of the 90s kids who are playing to re-live their childhood were there when the towers collapsed so they have no real excuse to not understand what these places mean to people and why these rules are being enacted in terms of forbidding the game. I don’t hate Pokémon Go for these things. It’s people and how they choose to react and interact with the game that cause the issues and I think a lot of people forget that and blame inanimate objects because it’s ‘easier.'”

Rajene Calloo, Connecticut

“Personally, I love that historic churches or sculptures or old restaurants are Pokéstops, because they give you a mini history lesson and it’s fun to find new places and learn a little more about your town. But some places like the Sandy Hook memorial and the Holocaust museum are places where those who lost their lives should be remembered and mourned and they are places for reflection. I think places like that should not be poke stops because although they are getting a lot more attention, it’s not for the right reasons. At the same time, if I wasn’t playing the game, I would have never known that the memorial was there in the park. So it raises awareness about certain places and certain things.”

Gabi Turi, Albany, New York

“I think it’s good for those who actually take a minute to learn about the spot, but I think the [Pokémon] gym near me at a MLK Jr. Memorial isn’t the best location for a gym…”

Cat Hill, Billings, Montana

“While I understand the outrage and disturbance these Pokéstops cause, I think people are forgetting that Ninantic employees didn’t randomly sit at a computer for months (or years) to plot out these points. They didn’t intentionally set out to choose these locations. They were chosen through geo-tagged pictures, national monuments, etc. A computer program picking that up doesn’t know wrong from right. It says, ‘Look! Lots of people go here! Let me program it as a beneficial game location.’ Now, should Ninantic have gone through the major landmarks? Sure. I’ll give it that. But you can’t blame the company’s computer program for instantly picking up on popular locations. It’s because of our obsession with the internet and documenting every second of our lives that’s led to this in the first place. We become so obsessed with the digital world that we lose our grip on reality.

“I don’t blame Ninantic. I blame the people who can’t put their phones down and respect the reverence of the places they’re in. Don’t try to tell me that your moral compass is in line with that of a computer. A computer doesn’t know better. But you sure as hell do. However, I do think Ninantic, now that the issue has been addressed, can create ’empty zones’ where Pokémon won’t appear at certain places, i.e. the Holocaust Museum, Sandy Hook. But to blame a computer for someone else’s lack of respect isn’t the way to go about it. Your outrage isn’t justified because you don’t want to admit to your own guilt of being obsessed with your phone and forgetting the world around you.”

If you come across an inappropriate location for one of these spots, here is where you can find directions on how to request the removal of the Pokéstop location.