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Please do not catch virtual monsters among the graves of fallen soldiers.


This is the message from authorities at Arlington National Cemetery, aimed at those who might use the hit mobile game Pokemon Go at the cemetery.

Pokemon Go invades America, finally gets us to exercise


"Out of respect for all those interred at Arlington National Cemetery, we require the highest level of decorum from our guests and visitors," cemetery officials 

 "Playing games such as 'Pokemon Go' on these hallowed grounds would not be deemed appropriate. We request that visitors to ANC refrain from such activity."


For those players who might get their news from Twitter, they followed up the statement with a tweet.

https://twitter.com/ArlingtonNatl/status/752959640816582656


The cemetery is one of two somber sites that are designated as PokeStops within the game. The other is the U.S. Holocaust Museum. NPR's 

 the designation makes it more likely people will play the game at those locations:

According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Holocaust Museum is trying to get game developer Niantic Labs to remove the landmark from the game. The director of communications for the museum, Andrew Hollinger, tells NPR in an email:

"Playing Pokemon Go in a memorial dedicated to the victims of Nazism is extremely inappropriate. We are attempting to have the Museum removed from the game.
"Technology can be an important learning tool, but this game falls far outside of our educational and memorial mission."


Just outright banning cellphones from the the museum is not really an option. Both the museum and the cemetery encourage visitors to use special, site-specific apps to supplement their experiences, to learn about personal history of the Holocaust, for example, or a historical figure buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Science

Lifestyle

Rebecca Hersher

Author

The sites where visitors normally reflect on somber themes ask players of the hot new mobile game not to chase cartoon characters there.

Pokemon No: Players not welcome at Holocaust Museum, Arlington

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