America's 'dirt-y' secret: Latinos are disappearing

Who else could be more deserving of a $1 million book deal from a publishing industry run by arrogant white liberals, not to mention a movie deal from Hollywood which is also run by -- wait for it -- arrogant white liberals?

By the way, Cummins also appears to be an arrogant white liberal who makes no apologies for cashing in on this culture grab. Instead, she crassly hosted a book party where the centerpieces were mockups of walls and barbed wire and gets a manicure with the same theme.

It's just the latest chapter in the vanishing of America's Latino community.

The 57 million Latinos who represent America's largest minority are cursed with invisibility. We're everywhere, and we're nowhere.

I blame the worlds of media and entertainment -- which are, need I point out, run by more arrogant white liberals.

On Sunday morning political shows, African American commentators are routinely asked by white hosts about the condition of Latinos in America. The press corps anointed a Spanish-speaking Irishman from El Paso to be the official Latino candidate of the 2020 election; in March, when Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke launched his doomed presidential bid, a reporter for The Associated Press mistakenly wrote that O'Rourke addressed supporters "in his native Spanish." The AP later corrected the error.

Hollywood thought nothing of casting Ben Affleck to play a Latino CIA agent in the film "Argo." Justin Bieber sings love songs in Spanish. Chef Rick Bayless specializes in Mexican cuisine.

I'm a Mexican American who audaciously wrote a memoir in my 20s about being a Harvard "Chicano." Then the government told me I was "Hispanic." And then activists informed me that I was "Latino." Today, the media tells me I'm "Latinx."

Now that fearmongering over immigration can get you elected president, and writing fairy tales about immigrants can make you rich, America has stolen the soul of a tribe that is expected to make up a quarter of the population by 2040.

Why cope with change, when you can erase it?

But Latinos are also to blame. We put up with this garbage. In fact, we bless it as if we're flattered that white people want to sing our songs, cook our dishes, or even run for president in our name.

On second thought, our soul wasn't stolen. We gave it away.

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