Reporting by Dennis Byron

An 18-year-old Payton Gendron, a known white supremacist walked into a Buffalo, New York Tops supermarket and opened fire on multiple people of color killing 10 and injuring multiple others before being he was taken into custody unharmed. According to The Associated Press, this white terrorist live streamed his approach to the supermarket before exiting his vehicle carrying an AR-15 assault riffle while wearing a high grade bullet proof vest and helmet dressed in army fatigue clothing.

Law enforcement has yet to release the killer’s name and one official stated that they didn’t want to release his name until he is formally arraigned this evening trying not to give him any “celebrity” for his murderous acts.

“He exited his vehicle. He was very heavily armed. He had tactical gear. He had a tactical helmet on. He had a camera that he was livestreaming what he was doing,” city Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said at a news conference afterward.

Gramaglia said the gunman initially shot four people outside the store, three fatally. Inside the store, a security guard who was a retired Buffalo police officer fired multiple shots at the gunman and struck him, but the bullet hit the gunman’s bulletproof vest and had no effect, Gramaglia added. The commissioner said the gunman then killed the security guard.

City of Buffalo Speaks out:

“This is the worst nightmare that any community can face, and we are hurting and we are seething right now,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said at the news conference. “The depth of pain that families are feeling and that all of us are feeling right now cannot even be explained.”

Rev. Al Sharpton called on the White House to convene a meeting with Black, Jewish and Asian “to underscore the Federal government (is) escalating its efforts against hate crimes.” In a tweet, Sharpton said that “leaders of all these communities should stand together on this!”

At the White House, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden was receiving regular updates on the shooting and the investigation and had offered prayers with the first lady for the victims and their loved ones.

“The president has been briefed by his Homeland Security advisor on the horrific shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., this afternoon. He will continue to receive updates throughout the evening and tomorrow as further information develops,” she said.

Attorney General Merrick Garland was briefed on the shooting, Justice Department spokesperson Anthony Coley said.

We spoke with Atlanta’s head of the NAACP President Gerald Griggs who stated the following:

“We have to directly address the root cause of this type of racially motivated violence in this Country. This was a racially motivated hate crime. Our Hearts and prayers go out to the people of Buffalo, the families of the deceased and injured. #BuffaloStrong”

On June 17th, 2015, white supremacist Dylan Storm Roof walked into a Charleston, SC Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and shot 9 blacks while they were praying. Roof was convicted in state court to a life sentence but ultimately he was prosecuted by the federal government and was sentenced to death. Hopefully the Buffalo shooter receives the same fate.

Read this domestic terrorist’s full manifesto where he espouses his white supremacy views below.

This is a developing story.

The post Breaking: White Supremacist Targets Blacks at #Tops Supermarket Killing Ten first appeared on Hip Hop Enquirer Magazine, LLC.

I am amazed that the controversy surrounding the proposed Muslim mosque and community center in New York City at ground zero is still going strong.  America has turned into a country where if you don’t agree with someone, you are painted as a bad person.  This is exactly what is going on in New York City.

Those who oppose the project have lost the legal battle, but now they are attempting to turn it into a political battle.  I find those in opposition full of hypocrisy, especially those in the Republican Party.

When President Obama used the word “empathy” to describe one of the qualities he looked for in a Supreme Court nominee, Republicans ripped into him (and rightfully so).  Our legal system is based on the law, not how one feels about a given case or person involved in a case.

Now, when it comes to the proposed mosque at ground zero, these same people want the Muslim community to be “sensitive” (i.e. empathetic) towards the family members of those killed and others impacted my 9/11.  Mind you that everyone agrees that the Muslims have the legal right to move forward with the project—not even the most vocal opponent argues this point.

Their whole argument is about “sensitivity.”  How ironic that when Obama suggested empathy in a Supreme Court nominee, he was excoriated.  Now, these very same people are encouraging the same thing, albeit in a different circumstance.

As a long time Republican, I have had many conversations with white folks in the party regarding the confederate flag (pictured above) and its place in our society.  These people see absolutely no problem with the flag flying on the dome of state capitols around the country, even though they know it’s very offensive to the Black community.

I have been told on many occasions that I (and the Black community) was being overly sensitive and that those who support the flying of the flag are within their rights.  Additionally, I was told, you can’t expect people to forget their heritage because of the sensitivities of the Black community.  After all, “me nor my parents or grandparents were part of the confederacy.  But, it is party of our family’s history; therefore, we celebrate it.  We had nothing to do with slavery, nor do we support any type of discrimination.”

Isn’t this the same argument the Muslims are using in New York?  They had nothing to do with 9/11.  But, yet they want to be able to celebrate their religion, despite the bad feelings that others may experience.

Once again, these same Republicans who oppose the Muslims in New York on grounds of “sensitivity,” will not take the same stand on the confederate flag when it comes to the Black community.

Principles are guides to one’s life that are not relative or situational.  Principles have to be consistently applied for one to be credible and maintain the moral high ground.  You can’t pick and choose when to apply one’s principles.

Through what’s going on in New York, maybe, just maybe, Republicans will better understand how Blacks feel about the confederate flag.  And maybe, just maybe, the next time Blacks express their feelings about having the confederate flag flying atop government buildings, Republicans won’t just blow us off.  But, maybe they will be “sensitive” to the pain the flag evokes within our community.

Can you honor the confederate flag without being a racist?  Without a doubt.  Can you support the Muslim project in New York without being “insensitive?”  Without a question.

To believe one without the other is to fly the flag of hypocrisy.

Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-public relations/government affairs firm.  He is also a contributing editor for ExcellStyle Magazine (www.excellstyle.com).

The post America’s Past Time: The Flag of Hypocrisy first appeared on Hip Hop Enquirer Magazine, LLC.