TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – No matter what variation of the ‘n-word’ is spoken, a Florida state senator is learning the term is still offensive as Democrats and Republicans admonish him for using it during an exchange with two African-American colleagues.
Republican Sen. Frank Artiles tried to say his use of the word was actually “niggas” and explained that’s the way people speak in Hialeah, the city near Miami where he grew up. Even as he apologized on the Senate floor Wednesday, he said that his intention in using it was benign.
“I grew up in a diverse community. We share each other’s customs, cultures and vernacular,” said Artiles, who is Cuban-American.
The excuse drew outrage from Senate Democratic Leader Oscar Braynon, whose district borders Hialeah.
“It is not acceptable in Hialeah for that to happen,” Braynon said. “It is not how they talk in Hialeah.”