For this week’s article I read “Afraid to roam: the unlevel playing field of Pokemon Go” written by Katie Salen Tekinbas. The article discusses the racial problems that have occurred for African Americans that are playing Pokemon Go. It has led to African Americans having to plan their playing based around being in the right neighborhoods at the right times even though they are harming nobody.
Pokemon Go was a revolutionary game that was the first augmented reality game that really blew up. It is based around catching and evolving Pokemon, but you could not do it from the comfort of your own home. The concept was to get people out and to see new things and to find companions to play and collaborate with.
When the game was first getting huge, I was one of the people that really got into it. I had a blast playing this game. I enjoyed finding different locations that had more values than others and meeting people along the way. I have never been much of a video game person, but this game really got me. Playing in augmented reality made it feel like it was not a video game. The concept of face-to-face competition kept me intrigued and wanting to get better.
While playing this game, my safety was never something the crossed my mind. I would play wherever I wanted to whenever I wanted to and never had a single moment of potential real life conflict. The fact that this is not the case for everyone is such a shame and truly disgusting. The fact that this article has to exist is really a major let down on our society.
There was an article posted a few years ago when Pokemon Go was in its peak called “How to play Pokemon GO as a Black person” that listed ways for African Americans to stay as safe as possible while playing Pokemon Go. This article included ideas like walking a dog while playing and making sure that the dog’s collar is cute and cloth and not a chain, dressing cute with clothes that have cartoons, wearing prescription glasses to look smarter, bringing a non-African American friend and many other things.
The fact that this article had to be written whether the writer wrote it as satire or not is pathetic. It is a major issue that this country is still facing and to think it is playing a role in Pokemon Go is upsetting.
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