By now we’ve all heard the story of the white men who were visiting Washington, D.C., during inauguration weekend who left a black Busboys and Poets waitress a hefty $450 tip on a $72.60 bill.
Well, the man behind the generous tip, Jason White, is now coming forward to tell his side of the story and why he went through with his unbelievable act of kindness.
White told the Washington Post that on Monday, when he walked into Busboys and Poets, well-known for its social-justice advocacy, he told his friend that he might want to take off his red “Make America Great Again” cap.
According to the Post, the three men from Texas knew that they stuck out in the restaurant. Their waitress, Rosalynd Harris, 25, however, happily chatted with them. She was still high off the energy from the Women’s March that weekend.
White, who is a dentist, complimented Harris on her smile, and their meal went well. As the men were getting ready to leave, White decided to leave Harris a $450 tip, along with a note:
We may come from different cultures and may disagree on certain issues, but if everyone would share their smile and kindness like your beautiful smile, our country will come together as one people. Not race. Not gender. Just American. God Bless!
According to White, the $450 was a nod to Trump’s status as the 45th president, and the act of kindness was a gesture expressing his hope that everyone can move forward together. The Post reports that White, 37, didn’t tell his friends about his generous tip.
White, who has been a Trump supporter from the beginning, believes that Trump will bring the government new leadership and a new mindset, even though, as a devout Christian, he doesn’t always agree with everything Trump says. He acknowledges that sometimes the new president speaks without thinking first (he got that right, at least).
White said that being in the nation’s capital for the inauguration and then for the Women’s March was a quintessentially American experience.
“As I sat there, I thought about the entire weekend and I thought, ‘I don’t know her, she doesn’t know me, but if most Americans have a preconceived perception about people, then we’re never going to get better,’” he said, according to the Post.
Harris acknowledged that she did have preconceived notions about the men but is now greatly appreciative of the extra cash.
“This definitely reshaped my perspective. Republican, Democrat, liberal are all subcategories to what we are experiencing,” she said. “It instills a lot of hope.”
“We have to think about being better Americans; we have to look into ourselves and how we treat one another,” White added. “If everyone did a little something to show respect … we can love one another.”
Read more at the Washington Post.