*** EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the controversial nature of the content being featured, comments are turned off. Certain featured social posts contain scenes of an intense nature which may be distressing to some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. ***
BY DC CUEVA
If you are a loyal viewer of everything MTV offers you in the world of reality television, no mention of it would be complete without the show that started it all... and it was just recently that MTV's Pluto TV channel added to its rotation earlier seasons of The Real World. In fall 2016 in the last season of it to air on MTV itself, Seattle not only saw "Bad Blood" take place inside the Season 32 house, but also brought us a moment that linked that season to the first one 24 years earlier in New York City, and a heated argument on race that Kevin Powell had with Julie Gentry in the streets.
In the Pacific Northwest, the roommates partook in a protest in downtown to vent their anger at how police were badly mistreating people of color, most especially Blacks. Three years prior, young African-American Treyvon Martin was killed by white man George Zimmerman, but it was him getting away with a not guilty charge that saw everyone voice their anger and began the Black Lives Matter movement. But it would take for more high-profile murders of other Blacks and for NFL'er Colin Kaepernick to take a knee when the National Anthem was played for this to finally become a coast-to-coast movement.
In the same city and streets that become a war zone when the 1999 World Trade Organization circus came to town, the Black Lives Matter protest that was attended by Black castmates Theo Bradley, Anika Rashaun and their roommates was peaceful. And it was when Theo's brother Kassius Bass took the mic and shared his story of being judged by his appearance and assured everyone that he would be on their side, taking place the same summer that incidents in Louisiana, Minnesota and Dallas sparked over 100 protests that summer... and this was months before that year's election.
 |
| IG @RoyleeTheBarber |
Since the events of what happened on May 26, what started out as a local protest in Minnesota's Twin Cities has grown like a summertime wildfire into a becoming a super tornado, a tsunami, a category 5 hurricane and an catastrophic earthquake all rolled into one that would not even register on the intensity scale. The immense amount of anger we have felt over this latest act of police brutality the past two weeks have seen protests in over 200 cities in America and overseas. Peaceful ones in the daylight have turned into riots after dark, and have seen police & protesters face off every day since this ordeal began.
Those who have demonstrated and braved the heat & concerns of a second virus wave are supporting Black Lives Matter in record numbers as they seek to give Floyd's family the justice they deserve and to speak out against how the cops have treated Blacks and other people of color. And it's not just in the Twin Cities where all four policemen responsible for that death being charged: other incidents have taken place in Louisville after the death of Breonna Taylor in March and David McAtee this past week, and many others across this country too many to mention.
More than a dozen of America's biggest cities have declared nightly curfews, while over twenty state governors have asked for over 17,000 National Guard troops to watch the streets, as well as U.S. Marshals to patrol Washington, D.C. Over 11,000 people have been apprehended & placed behind bars, and it has caused widespread looting that may plunge an American economy already suffering from COVID-19 deeper into a second Great Depression. And of course, the man at the center of this is the President and whose antics have seen everyone go in on him amidst all the teargas.
We here at DCBLOG exist to be what we like to call, "The Escape You Deserve," as we have always strive to provide a place of shelter & calmness in the madness of covering the true escapism of reality TV. Same goes for when you happen to glance over at my Twitter or Instagram @DC408Dxtr, where the only mention of the events going on are posts I posted last weekend lending my support to the African-American community during this time of upheaval.
But because of the unprecedented events taking place right now and how some of your favorite cast members from the shows we cover and you watch as a source of comfort have become actively engaged in this, we've decided to show you how they have been experiencing & partaking in the The Protests That Shut Down America, from their point of view, as seen in the following social media posts below with occasional context, description and background. We do caution that some of the content shown may be disturbing to some readers and we advise viewer discretion.
