proposal

Language warning: she doesn't take it well.

At first she thinks that she is watching a video made by her boyfriend's friend, starring her boyfriend. But, after watching her boyfriend take out rounds of henchman, she gets surprised with "seriously the most amazing thing in the world."

There are a thousand ways to say “I love you,” but tricking your partner into thinking your life's in danger probably isn’t one of them.

In a scary example of how common police brutality is in our culture, Daiwon McPherson of Mobile, Alabama used the horrific practice to the same ends as a flash mob, proposing to his girlfriend of five years after pretending to be victimized by police. Nothing says “let’s be together forever” like a traumatizing reminder of the grim realities of life.

via GIPHY

McPherson pulled the stunt off with the help of local police, who for some reason were more than happy to stage a scene of police violence in the name of love, drawing real gun on a real person in the name of a real blessed union. There’s nothing quite like watching your partner’s face switch from terror to confusion to relief in the blink of an eye.

The whole event started when McPherson never showed up for dinner and drinks with his girlfriend, when she got a call that he was “he was running from the cops while in possession of a gun,” according to The Daily Dot.

via Nickelodeon

Meanwhile, McPherson had already spoken to police earlier, hoping that the video would go viral “to show an instance of police working with the community for a positive outcome.” Apparently, there are no other positive things police could do for their communities. Maybe, like, a charity car wash or something? Maybe police-hosted picnic? Maybe police talking to people in the community without their guns drawn? I don't know. Just spitballing here.

Of course, this hilarious gag plays on the videos of actual tragedies. As The Daily Dot rightly points out, “In the past three years, many videos involving police altercations with black civilians have gone viral for their depictions of police brutality, including the tragic deaths of Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, and Tamir Rice.”

Lesson learned: If you're proposing, stick to flash mobs.