Will we ever achieve equality?

Like many I watched the George Zimmerman trial with interest. And when it was all said and done, I was left shaking my head.

Not for the verdict. In the times we live in no verdict surprises me. Honestly when it comes to trials it is a game and the best lawyers win.

I don't know if Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin in self defense or for what reason but he had his day in court and was found not guilty by a jury of his peers. I respect that process and am not educated enough to know what was in the man's mind that fateful night.

Plenty of other people are that educated. Social media was nothing but outrage at the verdict or support for Zimmerman. Interviews were given and time and time again race was brought up and I was left shaking my head.

The more we think our society advances and can get past racial issues the more those issues keep coming back and in my mind are exploited. Just think for a second if the roles were reversed in the Zimmerman case. If a black man shot a hispanic man or a white man in the same situation, would CNN have exploited it the way they did? Maybe, but I doubt it. It just leaves me shaking my head.

I, like many, would love to live in a world where we don't see color but instead see people. That just isn't our world and for every positive step we take we seem to fall back.

I'm almost 40 years old and come from an almost all-white community. I know people that think it is funny to make racial remarks. People who think they are better and smarter than others just because of the color of their skin.

I moved to Sikeston 15 years ago and have heard such ridiculous statements as "I can't believe the Sikeston (football) coaches are going to start a black kid at quarterback," or "there are too many black kids on the basketball team." I'm just left shaking my head at those ridiculous statements. What does it matter if they can play?

But it isn't a one-way street. African-Americans want equality and then I turn on the television and see an advertisement for a dating service just for black people. Then there are black-only beauty pageants, the Negro College Fund and Black Entertainment Television. If there was a white-only dating service, white-only pageants, college funds or television stations they would be immediately shut down for racism. Again I'm left shaking my head.

What should be good for one should be good for the other. Equality is just that, equality. Giving one person an advantage because of the color of their skin, whether it be for a job, school, acceptance into a group or anything like that to me is racism.

In college I had a black friend tell me that African-Americans deserved the advantages because of slavery. I understand the impact slavery had in our society and the damage it did, but at some point we have to move forward. Aren't we supposed to be judged by our actions, not our ancestors?

I used to think we would all get past the color barrier one day and just be people the way God intended, but I have realized that I will never see that day. There will be another Zimmerman-type trial probably sooner rather than later and again I will be left shaking my head. I suppose I had better be ready for a sore neck.