The media's sudden interest in derogatory racist and sexist comments by celebrities and government officials masks the reality of racism in America.

Don Imus' recent comments regarding the Rutgers women's basketball team were only words. The scarier and more serious racism, however, is the kind we face in our everyday lives.

Firing Imus, although I don't necessarily disagree with the decision, gave the impression of resolution to a problem that can't be washed away that easily.

Imus' talk show existed because people enjoy that type of sexist and racist humor; all he did was push it a little too far and cross a line. I despise that type of humor and never once listened to his show, so I was never offended by him. But the fact that people listened to his show and others similar to it, signifies a problem much greater than an inappropriate statement.

Furthermore, these "outrages" harped on in the media are only about women and blacks. Someone drops the n-bomb and the media won't stop talking about it (not that it should be acceptable), but if an Arab is called a "rag head," or any other derogatory statement, nothing is said or heard.

Worse than words, racism, sexism and all the other "–isms" affect people in their daily lives. Unlike the celebrities that are fired or forced to make amends, police, government officials and people in our daily lives get away with subtle racist acts that don't get discussed.

The legal system is extremely biased against non-white males. Even though everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, 85 percent of men on death row are black or Latino.

Even in Seattle, cops are racist. One black friend of mine was stopped and searched for jay-walking at 4 a.m. I, as a white female, have never been stopped for jay-walking, even though I do it on a regular basis at all hours of the night. But I am objectified. Almost every time I walk down the Ave., wear a skirt, or go longboarding I get catcalls.

Even worse, one in three women are raped or assaulted, according to Endabuse.org. Women may have the right to attend school, find careers and live their lives independent of a man, but recently released statistics from the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation found that one year after college graduation, women are paid only 80 percent of men's earnings, and only 69 percent 10 years later.

For women of color, the challenges are twofold. Have you ever seen a commercial for "ethnic" hair care? If you're white, have you ever bought a product made for "white hair"? My first year in the dorms, I got a lesson in "black hair" from my roommates. I always wondered how I didn't know it in the first place.

On a different level, racism against Arabs and Muslims in this country today is despicable. I have a friend with a Muslim middle name that was taken into a room at JFK airport and questioned without any justification.

Arabs and Muslims throughout the world are still being held illegally in Guantanamo Bay. Has mainstream media ever called it racist?

There are also issues of classism that are rarely discussed publicly. For example, I don't know an honors student at this university that wasn't educated in a private school (although I have no doubt there are many who weren't, I can fairly assume the correlation is high). With a required 1400 SAT score to be admitted, you either have to be really smart or someone paid a lot of money for your education.

People from poorer households don't have an opportunity to access the best education; combine that with being female or non-white, and you face triple-fold challenges.

If you're not a white, heterosexual, middle or upper-class male, you've probably experienced some form of racism, sexism or classism.

The point in these seemingly unrelated incidents is that forms of racism are experienced on a daily basis for everyone outside the norm. The civil rights movement isn't finished. Racism now is just much more subtle and under the table, but it still surrounds us.

The only time it gets mentioned in the media is when someone like Imus crosses the line and blatantly brings it up. It's time to look around our lives and challenge the actions and people that support this racist system. Ignoring it will only allow it to continue. Ignorance is not bliss — it's dangerous.

Reach columnist Brooke McKean at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.