The internet has a lot to say about a viral proposal video of an Atlanta man teaming up with a local police department to pop the question to his girlfriend. Despite the moment probably being a super happy one for the soon-to-be married couple, others are heavily criticizing the proposal's insensitivity to the Black Lives Matter movement and other current events.
After Daiwon McPherson reportedly conspired with the Mobile Police Department in Atlanta to bring both the surprise and horror of a lifetime to his girlfriend, many people took to Twitter to express their dismay with the video content. Some blasted McPherson, who is a black man, for recreating a scene that promotes police brutality, especially considering the recent shootings of unarmed black men throughout the country. "What black man in their right mind would use police brutality to propose," on person asked. "Black folk have been slaughtered by the state and you decided to use police & gun violence as a stunt to propose? Disgusting," another person tweeted.
For those who may have wanted to spare their eyes, the viral video shows McPherson and his girlfriend Shawna Blackmon arriving at a local gas station shortly before police officers were pulling up to the scene. In the video, the cops immediately jumped out of their cars, pulling their weapons on the couple, telling McPherson to get on the ground. As the man proceeded to get on the ground, he pulled out a ring and asked for her hand in marriage. It was hard to tell if Blackmon was crying tears of joy or relief at the fact that her boyfriend didn't meet a similar fate as some before him, but she said 'yes' nonetheless.
It's safe to say, if he was going for shock value, he undoubtedly accomplished it. McPherson offered somewhat of an explanation for why he chose to do that type of proposal, saying that he know his girl, and wouldn't have "done that if I felt like she was that type of person to respond a different way." While McPherson is within his right to plan whatever engagement scenario he wants, using real-life events as points of reference may not have been the most appropriate way to go about it.
You can read what Twitter had to say, as well as his detailed explanation on Facebook, below.
