Pokémon Go has been rumoured to be coming to Singapore in the very near future.

So naturally, there are already calls to postpone it.

The Straits Times

A Straits Times reader, Estella Young, wrote in to the forum page to express her concern over the impending release of Pokémon Go, and what it might do to Singapore society.

The crux of her problem with Pokémon Go boils down to this point.

"Pokemon Go should not be played at certain locations for reasons of public safety and human decency."

She pointed out cases of Pokémon Go fanatics invading sacred monuments overseas, such as the Holocaust Memorial Museum and Arlington National Cemetery.

And mused over the potential dystopia of blinded Pokémon Go players invading schools, hospitals and places of religious worship.

This might be a legitimate concern, but only if you somehow assume that Pokémon Go will eradicate societal norms that we have built up over decades.

A Facebook comment perfectly summed up the problem with that mentality.

Terrorism

Now onto her more contentious point: Young somehow made the connection that Pokémon Go could influence terrorism, and terrorists in some way.

This is her argument.

And in this age of lone-wolf terrorism, an extremist could easily buy a "Lure" to draw players into a low-security zone before launching a mass-casualty attack.

There are some problems with this logic.

I think we can agree that the goal of terrorism is always to strike terror in the community and abroad.

How does one strike terror?

Mostly by targeting places that would inspire panic.

Where are the places that would inspire panic?

Well, they are in high tourist traffic areas, which are also extremely packed with people all the time, regardless of Pokémon Go.

So, unless a terror group pops up specifically targeting Pokémon Go players, chances are, Pokémon Go will have little to no effect on the threat of terror in Singapore.

The problem with the letter

Now, we do not doubt the sincerity of the writer.

What is a problem is that the whole piece propagates the myth that Singaporeans cannot use their own judgement to utilise products. Instead requiring a slew of regulations, or worse still, even a blanket ban.

That is the same mentality that resulted in the banning of chewing gum.

And like Pikachu in the Pokémon cartoon, more than a decade later, our tendency to call for bans still have not evolved.

It is easy to point at potential dangers that could undermine our nation, and link them to any product, there are many dangers in the world after all.

But in a way, wouldn't the fear of anything new or unknown, be itself undermining of the strength of a nation?

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