When Netflix rebooted this iconic series, no one would guess that this show would open up conversations about police brutality and capture one of the most cathartic moments on TV in 2018. In the episode "Dega Don't", the group of guys drive to surprise their nominee, a cop named Cory. Karamo Brown, the host that specializes in culture, who is also African American, drives when he hears police sirens behind him. He cracks jokes to ease the obvious and immediate tension as he waits for a familiar situation he has seen multiple times (especially in media) unfold.
The cop asks for his license, but Brown doesn't have it because he has followed cars with producers behind him, where they drop their stuff off. The cop then asks for Brown to step out of the car, not clarifying why he was pulled over, despite repeated requests. The cop asks for more information about the show that Brown said he was filming. Suddenly, the cop reveals his name is Henry, the nominator of the episode's nominee, Cory. There are screams of delight when Brown and his cohosts find that they're not actually in danger. This encounter leads to a discussion at the end of the episode, with Cory and Karamo, about why black people fear the police in America. It is said that this encounter was a freakish coincidence. Producer, David Collins, says that "every morning that we started a new episode, the guys would do Rock, Paper, Scissors and try to buck up to see who got to drive".
Brown, Henry, and Cory became a living example of uncomfortable conversations about law enforcement and people of color. Brown says, his "fear was, 'Who's gonna come to our rescue right now? How is it gonna happen, because I'm terrified of what [Henry's] gonna do when he sees me when he sees Tan". Brown felt scared despite the fact that there were producers nearby. He says, "It speaks to the fact that no matter how I identify, me being a black man always comes first." Later in the episode, mid-makeover, Cory and Brown have a serious talk about Brown's fear of the police. Cory expresses how sorry he is. However, he elaborates saying, there are some really bad ones, but there are some good ones.
At the end of the episode, Cory and Brown show their respect and affection for each other. They have "a real friendship because [they] saw each other and heard each other", says Brown.
Police brutality and unfair treatment of people of color is definitely a major issue in the US. It is inexcusable that African Americans are 3x more likely to be killed by police than white people. Even worse, police officers are not held accountable. In 2015, 99% of cases of police violence did not result in a conviction. There are ways to reduce police killings, such as demanding officers use all other tactics before shooting and reporting all uses of force. Both of these have been shown to reduce police killings by 25%, yet few departments use these solutions. I think the only way to get police departments to adopt these policies and reduce police killings is to start convicting officers. Once officers have to face real consequences for their actions, I they will be more careful and only shoot if it is completely justified.
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I have actually seen this episode and it is pretty uncomfortable to watch. Karamo's obvious uneasiness was upsetting however it was more upsetting that he wasn't surprised at all to be pulled over, and he even assumed it was because he is black. It is unfortunate that in American society, police tend to use racial profiling as a form of suspicion or probable cause and start making assumptions based on the race of an individual. Since there has yet to be any serious consequences for police brutality or blatant discrimination by law enforcement, there probably won't be much progress anytime soon. Hopefully, police officers and people in authority should face serious consequences for racial discrimination and hopefully help resolve this issue.
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