I was scrolling through a Pokémon collectors group on Facebook yesterday. It’s a private group dedicated to Pokémon collectors who live in Maryland. A thread caught my eye because it involves Hagerstown, the city in Maryland where I live.
It begins with this:
The person who posted this angry screed was hurt because the person in the photo bought 38 Crown Zenith Sea & Sky Premium Collection boxes. The store was limiting members to 20 boxes. She was able to skirt the rules because her son purchased 18 of her 38 boxes.
What I found the most disturbing about this post was one of the responses:
I blurred the names to protect identities. Not that these individuals deserve protection.
The bottom comment is the worst. They wrote:
I take great pride in making these type of people feel weak and scaring the living shit out of them. You don’t have to do anything but use your words and let her know you’re writing her tag number down so everyone knows who to look out for. Mind Games are the best.
Remember, “these type of people” the person he is talking about are people who buy things in quantities he personally deems excessive. They must be a scalper! For that, they deserve to feel weak and scared?
Collectors expressing violent rhetoric in regards to people who resell Pokémon products is actually quite common. At least it is online. I think it’s beyond strange. Pokémon collectors, people who collect cards for a children’s game publicly will call for violence towards others on a regular basis.