When white people, without any real experience working and living with people of other cultures and racial backgrounds, try to interact with minorities, the results can be awkward. Gov. Rick Scott welcomed 20 black legislators to lunch Tuesday at the Governor’s Mansion.
According to the Miami Herald, Scott told the lawmakers, ““I grew up probably in the same situation as you guys. I started school in public housing. My dad had a sixth-grade education.â€
He didn’t know his audience. He assumed they were poor, grew up in housing projects and in families with little education.
Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach, said Scott’s choice of words was unfortunate even if he was trying to “empathize†with the black caucus.
“Some of us might be from the projects, but we come from all spectrums of life,†Gibbons said.