Protests to Pokémon

by Makalyn Kowalik
Journalism Intern

Westboro Baptist Church moves from protests to Pokémon now as it continues to discriminate against the gay community.  This past Thursday  July 7th, Pokémon GO , a free-to-play augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic was released in the United States and immediately swept the nation.  

Players have to walk around in the real world to move their avatar in the game. Different Pokémon live in different areas of the world; for example, water-type Pokémon are found near water and so forth. When a player encounters a Pokémon, they may view it in either Augmented Reality mode or with a pre-rendered background. Players can also take pictures, using an in-game camera, of the Pokémon that they encounter.

Most uses have found that particular places such as college campuses and churches are known for holding Pokémon in their location. This was no different for the Westboro Baptist Church. As people across the country devoted their weekends to catching Pokémon, according to USA Today one user noticed that the church, known for its opposition to the LGBT movement, was listed as a gym on Pokémon Go.

So that user claimed it using the Pokémon Clefairy. Its nickname was "LoveIsLove."

The church immediately retaliated recruiting a commonly known sweet and fluffy Pokémon, Jigglypuff, to “deal with the sodomite LoveisLove Clefairy”. Many have responded to their advertisement of the game that also bashes the LGBT community.

Steve Drain, an elder at the church responded with, "We try to speak whatever language is being spoken.”

Most members of the LGBT community and its supporters have simply challenged the Jigglypuff to a Pokémon battle.

The Gayly - 7/11/2016 @1:40 p.m. CDT