What is right in the world today is the very popular game that has surpassed Twitter users in such a short amount of time – Pokemon Go. This game has generated a lot of attention because of how it has simply taken off and overshot expectations. Like anything else in our world, if something is doing really well, if people are really happy about something, if people are doing one particular thing a lot, there are going to be haters. Some of this hate, indifference, annoyance, skepticism and other negative attitudes and opinions directed towards Pokemon Go have come from various sources.
Some teenagers are getting hurt, finding dead bodies, getting mugged and robbed while playing. From the individual stories alone there can be made a case for this topic to be in the “what's wrong in the world today category”, right? Wrong. If you are playing Pokemon Go while driving, or going into the street without looking, you are responsible for rolling the dice on your own mortality. Maybe Darwin is sending you a hint? If you discover something really bizarre because you are going off the grid, that is merely coincidence. As far as I know, Niantic isn't placing rare, elusive Pokemon near potential hazardous sites or areas on purpose.
Well, there is something to be said for there being so many Pokemons at Walmart and other mega corporations but that can be saved for a conspiracy theory piece. And lastly, if you have your phone out in a bad neighborhood late at night, you again are the one to take responsibility for your actions, not the addictive, nostalgia-rendering game that encourages walking and exploration. More importantly, Pokemon Go has created such a positive impact on people who would otherwise not be walking and exercising as much nor overcoming their fears of social interaction. Pokemon Go has had a powerful impact on our society in that it has provided a sense of community between complete strangers in a way that no recent app (with the exception of Uber..?) has done so before and for that, it belongs in the “what is right with the world” category.
What is wrong in the world today is a touchy, incendiary topic, as they often are. The Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter debate is really getting out of hand. I am trying to not digress and make this about why you should or should not believe either side. Although if you side with All Lives Matter then I might prematurely judge you as a right-wing, sycophantic, rhetoric-fed, symbol-minded, privileged person of not-color. But that's ok. That's where my stance is on choosing which faction to not support. The real problem, what is really wrong in the world today and in this debate, is the lack of recognition and engagement that I see coming from either group to their opposition.
How can you expect to properly motivate and change the way those standing against you think and behave when you are deleting them from social media? By sharing your rhetoric-driven posts, those alone aren't going to propel themselves into the minds of the people you are scared of and want to change. Especially if the only people who follow you to hear what you have to say on the matter already support you too. The real opportunity presents itself in the form of actual, physical dialogue. The real world influence of keyboard-warriors on Facebook and twitter are fanciful and anybody who believes they can affect serious change from a clever worded post is delusional.
Now as I type this am I delusional to think I am the only outlier and exception? As my fingers tap these keys are they meaningless if they never reach the eyes and laptop and mobile screens of any potential readers? Or if they are read but are almost immediately forgotten after the person has already begun reading another article about the crazy things that cats do? Before diving into that pit of nihilism, it is important to note that my point is this article will certainly fall on many deaf ears/blind eyes, but those that are seeing this on the internet, and especially those people, from either group, who attend the rallies, must pay attention: keep the conversation alive. All conversations matter, even your and my perception of “ignorant” ones. What's wrong with the world today is not only that the All Lives Matter undermines the Black Lives Matter movement (because, let's be honest, if the supporting group of All Lives Matter actually advocated for the acknowledgment of rights and treatment of everyone like its namesake suggests, there wouldn't really be a need for the Black Lives Matter movement), but not enough peaceful conversations are happening with members of both sides taking place. If you are brave enough then go to the rallies and peaceful demonstrations and make your voice heard and also listen to someone else who doesn't agree with you.
What IDGAF about is making news because some privileged guys feel upset about is the new Ghostbusters movie being casted with women instead of men. This is because those men are used to seeing men on the screen. There is a famous psychology statistic that gets tossed around at least once every psych 100 class that states, “men dream about men, and women dream about men”. For the longest time men have dominated several aspects of life and fields and industry. However, ever so slowly, women have begun entering these spheres of influence that are making a lot of men feel inadequate, startled, and intimidated.
An average guy would rather be compared to a man that is both a Phd and model, than a slightly more successful, moderately attractive woman counterpart. Guys, you're going to have let that competitive edge transfer over to the women who are appearing in a lot more, including the big screen. Personally, it doesn't matter to me if the entire movie was a cast of women. If that movie is funny, entertaining, pays homage to the original (for nostalgia effect, not pandering to the original male cast), then it deserves a good rating as a movie. I would care if someone made the argument about Hollywood cranking out blockbuster garbage every four and a half months and that they hit a dozen remake ideas before an original film gets into production. The fact that this movie might be just another one of those unoriginal attempts at box office sales from sheer title recognition alone would be enough to make me care but the gender role change is what is causing a stir and IDGAF.
