Deion Broxton became the most relatable man on the internet this week after the Montana-based news reporter saw something he didn’t like—and wisely walked the fuck away.
That particular “something,” was a herd of bison.
Shooting a teaser for a KTVM-NBC story on closures at Yellowstone Park on Wednesday, the 27-year-old Broxton spotted the herd off-camera. A native of Baltimore, Md., Broxton told the Baltimore Sun he had seen bison many times before, but never that close.
“I’m used to rats, not bison,” Broxton told the Sun.
“They always say, ‘Stay at least 25 yards away from mammals,’” Broxton said. “But that damn bison broke the 25-yard barrier and I was like, ‘Uhhh, I’m not dealing with this!’”
That moment was captured on Broxton’s camera, which he rightfully and justly shared with the world.
“Oh, my god. Oh, my god,” says Broxton as he spots the herd approaching—with one bison, in particular, making eye contact with him.
“Oh, no, I ain’t messing with you,” he says. “Oh, no. Oh, no.”
That last declaration—paired with a brisk walk off-camera—is an anthem for this current time. When I woke up this morning, the first thing I wanted to tell the world was “Oh, no, I ain’t messing with you.” (But as you can tell from this blog, I am currently messing with it, or rather, it is currently messing with me. Shame!)
What’s become abundantly clear in the last few weeks is that there are many ways we can exit this world. Broxton, like the rest of us, would like to at least have a little say in the matter.
“I don’t know if [the bison] was actually going to come at me, but I knew I didn’t want to stick around to find out,” he told the Sun. “I wasn’t trying to be on CNN for being killed by a bison.”