Social media didn’t create cancel culture, but it did make it stronger and faster. In case you don’t know, “cancel culture” is a form of boycotting; it’s the practice of withholding support or publicly deeming someone as no longer being socially acceptable. For people whose public image is how they make their living, like celebrities and politicians, being cancelled can be a fate worse than death. Because of this, some people see the phenomenon as bullying, while others call it free speech. You can complain about it all you want, but it’s not going away, and as much as it gets attributed as a liberal tool, the practice of “cancelling” is used by people on all sides of the political spectrum. Before he got banned from Twitter, Donald Trump used the method almost daily. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is nothing short of a deity among artists and liberals, discovered last week that even he is not immune to cancel culture. In the Heights, the film based on his Tony Award-winning musical was viciously criticized on social media for casting actors who were lighter-skinned than most of the actual people who reside in Washington Heights. As the online firestorm intensified, the man who cast Black actors to play George Washington and Thomas Jefferson in the musical Hamilton was forced to issue a formal apology.
Social media has given everyone a platform; something only a handful of people, such as talk show hosts, newspaper columnists, and television journalists used to have. Like many things, this can be good and bad. Anyone can go online and express an opinion, and if enough people jump on the bandwagon, it can go viral. Depending on the issue, the result can extol a tremendous amount of pressure on just about anyone or anything. Let’s face it, most of us criticize cancel culture when we don’t agree with what is being said, but we quietly applaud it when it supports our beliefs. Social media and cancel culture are why Harvey Weinstein and Derek Chauvin are in prison – which is good. I didn’t, however, like the attacks on Lin-Manuel Miranda when I first read them. Admittedly I don’t know Washington Heights very well, and therefore have no idea how people from that neighborhood actually felt. That said, my issue with Miranda’s situation was less about the casting of In the Heights, and more about Latinos needing to be more supportive of one another – but that’s me.
Freedom has a price. The fact is, we can argue whether the practice is fair or not, but as long as we have a free society, cancel culture will be a part of it.
I saw a video recently that made me both angry and a little sad — people saying that even though they’re citizens, they don’t feel American. I understand the pain behind that feeling. But I also believe something important: America doesn’t belong to a narrow group of people, and it never has. Too often, we allow small-minded voices to define who “counts.” In this episode, I talk about identity, ownership, and why no one gets to tell you that this country isn’t yours. If you contribute to it, believe in it, and are willing to stand up for it, America belongs to you — just as much as anyone else.
Some are openly saying that immigrants make America weaker, not stronger — but the data tells a different story. Immigrants bring work ethic, entrepreneurship, and a deep appreciation for opportunity. Latino immigrants who have lived in the United States for more than 10 years have higher homeownership rates and higher net worth, and their children achieve higher levels of educational attainment. At a time when demographic decline threatens long-term growth, immigrants bring youth, household formation, and economic momentum. Meanwhile, countries with strict immigration policies are facing aging populations and stagnant economies. Immigration isn’t a weakness — it’s one of America’s greatest strengths.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Latinos had a net gain of 441,000 new homeowners in 2025 — the largest increase ever recorded since homeownership tracking began in 1975. Even more striking, without those 441,000 new Hispanic homeowners, the overall number of homeowners in America would have declined. Let that sink in. At a time of affordability challenges and economic uncertainty, Latino buyers are not just participating in the housing market — they’re sustaining it. I also break down new household formation numbers, where Hispanic households accounted for the overwhelming majority of total growth in 2025. This isn’t speculation about the future. It’s evidence of what’s already happening in real time. Latino homeownership is keeping housing — and our broader economy — moving forward...