To say Pokemon Go is a hit is an understatement. In Topeka, Kansas, however, a small, virulently anti-LGBT Church is feeling a bit burned. Within days, they discovered their church was labeled as a “Pokemon Gym” by the geo-tagging app, and suddenly Westboro Baptist Church — associated with protesting funerals and demanding punishments for LGBT citizens — found themselves home base for the “Love Is Love” Gym. LoveIsLove Gym? Well, it’s what happens when a LGBT Supportive group, and your next door neighbor takes over your virtual space through a series of online Pokemon battles that went poorly for the anti-gay church (no kidding).
Davis Hammet, director of operations for Planting Peace and a director at The Rainbow House, an organization aimed at promoting equality in the face of Westboro Baptist Church, noticed the gym quickly and made use of it. In a series of photo tweets and Facebook posts, not only did Hammet “take over” the gym on top of Westboro Baptist Church, he also managed to show, again, why Westboro Baptist Church is still classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Westboro Baptist didn’t take the afront laying down, and ended up fight back. How? By recruiting their own Jigglypuff (seriously) but in the back and forth contest, it appears, for now, that LGBT activists have made the greatest impact. Their use of an online game served as yet another opportunity to show how the hate organization feels about America.
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