Pokemon: the good, the bad and the ugly. This is not going to be an article bashing Pokemon, nor is it in praise of Pokemon. It isn’t even really about Pokemon. So what is it about? Bear with me for a moment.

As most people know, Pokemon Go was released last month and it has been a hit: a hit that I figured would die down--just another craze in our society. But the Pokemon craze is proving that it could be more than a short-lived thing. But is it a good thing? Of course there are two sides to this story. There are those who say it is quite bad. These stories of woe include thieves luring people with the game, accidents caused by people being distracted, and people roaming around on private property. These are countered by the reports of the game helping autistic children communicate with others, people of all backgrounds hanging out and coming together, and stories involving feeding homeless people who in turn ask others if they are hungry. To top it all off, the game gets you outside and exercising. Are these stories true? I don’t know, but it would be nice if they were. In our world today there is a lot of bad, so people want to emphasize the good.

But wait for it, here is a news breaker ... Pokemon Go, in its form as a game, is not good. It is just a game. It isn’t coming to life and feeding those homeless people and communicating for those autistic children nor is it another player helping these children. However, it also is not mugging those innocent people or killing or harming anyone, so the game is not bad either. The good we see and the bad we see can be caused indirectly by the game. But if there was another game that had you out and about or could make other people come near you, it could have the same effects.

It is people that do good or bad. In our society there are many, many things that we can use that are just objects, but we choose to either use them for good or bad. We choose to embrace the culture of: “me me me, it’s all about me. What makes me happy” and slack off at work, or refuse to put the game down while we are driving and thus cause mayhem. Or we can use the game for, yes, our own entertainment, but also to do good. (Although hey, who says we need an incentive such as this game to do good? … But I suppose that is a whole other article).

I often claim I will never play this game, and despite this I really don’t care if others do as long as they aren’t causing trouble or letting themselves get distracted from their jobs, or what is important in their lives. Playing it is your prerogative. Just remember that it is just a game. And this goes with anything, any tool, that you can use, including but not limited to: your phone in general, other games, weapons, and even to an extent alcohol. You are the person behind the good or bad associated with it. And if you do bad or vile things with whatever tool you choose, people will remember it associated with that bad, but if you do good then people will associate it with good.