June 22, 2009 08:15 am
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Readers of the geocaching persuasion responded swiftly to reporter Matt Smith’s article about the Johnson County Cemetery Association’s desire for the gamers to stay out of local cemeteries.
Almost unanimously the geocachers insisted they were not harming the cemeteries and that their participation in the pastime had been of value to them through expose to the history of the area.
A couple of readers took us to task for not providing the geocacher side of the story. As was explained in the article and today’s follow up, in which their views were made known, we did attempt to contact the largest organization involved in organizing the pastime and did not receive a response.
We did include information from the organization’s Web site, most of which was repeated by protesting geocachers. Unfortunately, the only person the reporter knew who has been involved in the pastime is a staff member, and we don’t use staffers as sources on stories such as this one.
One geocacher accused our reporter of drive-by journalism, but in doing so, the protestor, and many of the other commentators seemed to have missed a salient point: Neither the JCCA nor the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office want the caches in the cemeteries they care for.
This should be enough reason to put the caches somewhere else. It doesn’t matter if geocachers are learning history, or if they thought the cemeteries were public property, or if they carry trash out whenever they visit, or if some other cemetery association has no problem with the game.
We suspect generational differences as well as changing societal values are at work here. Many people, especially those of a certain age, consider cemeteries to be holy ground, to be treated in the highest regard and with the greatest respect.
They see geocaching as a high-tech game that does not meet these criteria. To show them respect and honor their wishes costs geocachers nothing.
Some geocachers have made the wise decision to contact the JCCA and JCSO and have made some suggestions about how they can all co-exist. We hope they can work it out.
Many of the geocachers’ goals are good — learning, respect for the environment, making exploring the outdoors fun — but instead of jumping to defend themselves or attack a reporter, they should consider carefully who they’re offending and whether giving that offense is worthwhile.
This editorial is the opinion of the Cleburne Times-Review
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