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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Fire guts house, but no one injured Are you glad the Ashland Rotary Centennial Ice Rink is here? Hikers, bikers, riders want to coexist on Ashland Trails Ashland robotics team aims to build a winner Police Reports Education Ashland robotics team aims to build a winner AHS ranked No. 7 by Niche College debt load balloons: What could, should be done? 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Comment By Michelle Teheux More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Michelle Teheux More Content Now Posted Jan. 2, 2015 @ 6:54 am By Michelle Teheux More Content Now Posted Jan. 2, 2015 @ 6:54 am » Social News A Facebook meme the other day caught my eye because it included a picture and summary of a Pekin, Illinois, police case. The site that created the meme was making the same point that occurred to those of us in the newsroom right away — namely, that Brandon Meinders is pretty lucky to be alive. Meinders is the 20-year-old Manito, Illinois, man who fought two police officers, a firefighter and a paramedic after his recent shoplifting arrest in a Pekin store. Meinders struggled to grab a police sergeant’s Taser from his belt, admitting afterward that he had been trying to grab the gun. Yet Meinders lived to be booked into jail with a variety of charges. Meinders is luckier than many who had some kind of altercation with authorities and didn’t live to see jail time. Meinders is white, yes. Also, his alleged misdeeds took place in a community that has a good and professional police force. Pekin is not the kind of town where police expect to have to shoot anyone. It’s worth asking what the public reaction would have been if police had shot Meinders. It’s very easy to argue that the things he is accused of doing are comparable to the actions attributed to Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York, and probably worse. Do people deserve to be shot for stealing things? How about for attacking officers? How about for grabbing for their weapons? Does it matter what color the person is? The Facebook meme showed several people who had been involved in altercations with police. All the white people were arrested, and all the black people were shot. It’s just a meme. Yet it’s worth thinking about, isn’t it? I understand the mantra “black lives matter” and I also understand “police lives matter,” but the way I’d say it is “all lives matter.” Maybe we can all agree on a few things: 1. Behave in such a way that the police have no reason to confront you. 2. If the police do confront you for some reason, comply with their demands. It sucks, sure, but your lawyer can sort it out later. 3. Even if you end up being confronted by a bad cop — because yes, we all know they exist — don’t fight back. Just don’t. Period. 4. Body cams would go a long way toward protecting good officers and exposing bad ones. 5. Police sometimes have to make split-second decisions, and sometimes they will make the wrong ones, because they are human. We need to recognize that. 6. There’s nothing wrong with questioning why black suspects seem to be taking the brunt of bad decisions. 7. People who would have been upset if Meinders had been shot but who think Brown and Garner had it coming should stop insisting they aren’t racist. Go shave your head, learn to goose-step, buy a copy of “Mein Kampf” and be done with it. Pekin Daily Times editor Michelle Teheux may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @michelleteheux. By Michelle Teheux More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Michelle Teheux More Content Now Posted Jan. 2, 2015 @ 6:54 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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