With Hispanics in America, Brokaw misses the story

Yet Brokaw wasn't done. He still had another foot and room in his mouth. He went on to suggest that, with Hispanics, the melting pot isn't working.

"I also happen to believe that the Hispanics should work harder at assimilation," Brokaw said. "That's one of the things I've been saying for a long time. You know, they ought not to be just codified in their communities but make sure that all their kids are learning to speak English."

As you can see, this column is in English. That's because, nearly 100 years after my grandfather came to the United States legally from Mexico, my Spanish isn't good enough to get through a paragraph. How's your Italian or German?

Brokaw poked Hispanics in our sensitive spot when he mentioned the A-word: assimilation.

Here we give up Spanish to learn English to the point where we miss out on hearing our grandparents' stories before they die. We get degrees, work hard, pay taxes, buy homes, coach Little League and join the PTA. We go along to get along, all the way to the point where some in our community accuse us of "acting white."

Meanwhile, white people are lying in tanning booths, gorging on tacos and listening to Justin Bieber sing in Spanish. And in Texas, a white guy trying to be Hispanic wants to be called "Beto."

And, in the middle of this cultural madhouse, someone comes along -- a professional storyteller no less -- and accuses you of not assimilating enough. That's the racist part. Brokaw is assuming that Hispanics don't understand the importance of blending in. If Hispanics blended in any more, we'd be invisible. Which is, I get it, what some people want.

Brokaw hasn't been fired or even reprimanded. The so-called elite media has its own version of white privilege.

As criticism mounted by Latino advocacy groups and others, a NBC News spokesperson offered this slap on the wrist: "Tom's comments were inaccurate and inappropriate, and we're glad he apologized."

Oh yes, the apology. On Sunday, after tweeting that he was "sorry" for offending Hispanics, Brokaw signed off with yet another bizarre comment: "it worked! i got your attention."

So this whole kerfuffle was an attempt by Brokaw to stay relevant? How ironic that it wound up showing us all that, in this day and age, he no longer is.

========

Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.