As a society, we like to think we are above stereotypes and discrimination. We like to think we don’t judge a book by its cover.

We did, after all, elect Barack Obama to be president, so we’ve grown as a society, right?

The reality is that stereotypes, especially those predicated on appearance and race, are still very much alive.

Trayvon Martin was visiting his father in Twin Lakes, a gated community in Sanford, Fla., when he was followed and eventually killed by George Zimmerman, a self-appointed captain of his community’s neighborhood watch program.

Martin was on his way back from the store with Arizona iced tea and a bag of Skittles for his brother when Zimmerman thought he looked suspicious. The neighborhood had experienced a string of burglaries, and Zimmerman apparently thought Martin fit the profile of a criminal, so he followed him.

Zimmerman claimed self defense and that he feared for his life when he saw Martin. Zimmerman, despite having killed someone, was then released by police after minimal investigation.

The Trayvon Martin incident illustrates how far we still have to go as a society and just how ugly stereotypes can be. The incident reflects a Jim Crow-era level of deplorable behavior by Zimmerman.

One of Zimmerman’s explanations for following Martin was that he looked suspicious. Martin reportedly looked suspicious to Zimmerman because he was wearing a hoodie.

This assumption displayed the disgusting stereotype that black or brown people wearing a hoodie or baggy clothing are presumed to criminals.

Television news personality Geraldo Rivera recently said that the hoodie is to blame for the murder and encouraged parents to watch how their children dress. Blaming the hoodie for the incident, however, is irresponsible. No piece of clothing can truly tell what a person is about. To presume people have a certain style of behavior or background because of their clothing is ludicrous.

As someone of mixed heritage, (Mexican on my mother’s side, Caucasian on my father’s) I have experienced discrimination and being stereotyped.

Last year while walking home from a Fresno State football game, I was stopped by police officers. The officers asked me to stop and then proceeded to pat me down to check if I had any weapons. They also asked me to remove my shirt to see if I had any gang-related tattoos. What led them to ask me to stop? I am Latino, and was wearing all red.

This incident was embarrassing to me for many reasons, the biggest being that those walking past me looked at me and presumed me to be a criminal. This is the similar kind of assumption, discrimination and stereotyping that led to the death of Trayvon Martin.

Because of the clothing in both instances, it was presumed that something bad was going to happen. This incident illustrates a big problem in society. People who look or dress like Martin aren’t the ones society should worry about. Overzealous vigilantes who make judgments off appearance or race, as Zimmerman did, are the ones we should worry about.

Until we as a society learn not to judge others based on appearance, tragedies like that of Trayvon Martin will continue to happen.

Thomas Pearson is the features editor for The Collegian.