The INSIDER Summary:
• Jason White left his waitress a $450 tip, along with a heartwarming message, in a Washington, DC, restaurant.
• She said that it reshaped her perspective and gave her hope.
• At a time when the country seems divided, small acts of kindness can go a long way.
Jason White, 37, left a hopeful message for his waitress in a Washington, DC, restaurant — along with a generous tip.
He and two friends, all Trump supporters, were in town from Texas to witness the inauguration, and stopped into Busboys and Poets for a bite to eat. The restaurant, decorated with African-American art and photos, is known for promoting social justice causes. Their waitress, 25-year-old Rosalind Harris, noticed one of them wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat.
White, who, along with his friends, is white, suggested that he might want to take it off.
White is also a dentist. He complimented Harris' smile, and they continued chatting.
When White and his friends received the bill for $72.60, he added a $450 tip along with a message to Harris:
"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," they wrote. "Not race. Not gender. Just American. God bless!"
We rise by lifting others. A lovely act of kindness pic.twitter.com/S01SV3w8ts
— Busboys and Poets (@busboysandpoets) January 24, 2017White didn't even tell his friends what he'd done. He just wanted to do his part to bring healing and respect into the deeply divided political climate.
“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 told The Washington Post.
Harris heard the message loud and clear.
“This definitely reshaped my perspective," she told The Post. "Republican, Democrat, liberal are all subcategories to what we are experiencing. It instills a lot of hope.”
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