Ignore The Hispanic Hype Machine

Ignore The Hispanic Hype Machine
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 12: Avocado salad with smoked tortillas is photographed for the Smoke Signals column Monday August 12, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 12: Avocado salad with smoked tortillas is photographed for the Smoke Signals column Monday August 12, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

There's something I contemptuously refer to as the “Hispanic Hype Machine.” It's the Internet-enabled echo chamber that goes into overdrive every time a Latino-centric statistic comes out.

Here's an example: A recent news story reported that tortillas now outsell hamburger buns and sales of tortilla chips outpace those of potato chips.

Overeager headline writers glommed onto the data points and made it sound as if these numbers pointed to some sort of impending brown supremacy — “As Demographics Change, So Does The Menu.”

Before You Go

"Self-Deportation"

Dumbest Commentary About Latinos In 2012

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot