Minuteman Granny Scares the NAACP and NCLR

As I mentioned in a previous post, racial relations in this country must be pretty good if the NAACP can't find anything better than this to get hot and bothered about:

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — When the mayor named a 73-year-old grandmother to the city's park board — which considers issues like off-leash dog areas and outdoor party permits — the move might have gone largely unnoticed.

But Frances B. Semler's appointment could cost Kansas City millions of dollars because she is a member of the Minutemen, a group that advocates patrolling of the U.S.-Mexico border and reports illegal immigrants to authorities.

Her membership has drawn sharp criticism from the National Council of La Raza, the United States' largest Hispanic advocacy group, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Both groups are threatening to show their displeasure by canceling conventions scheduled to be held in Kansas City.

To the credit of the city, the Mayor is supporting his appointee:

When Semler's appointment first drew attention, Mayor Mark Funkhouser turned down her offer to resign. He then said he would continue to support her, even if it meant losing the two conventions and any other events.

"I am a member of the NAACP, and I've been a longtime supporter of civil rights and diversity," Funkhouser said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. The five-member parks board that includes Semler also has two black members and a Hispanic president.

"I don't share Ms. Semler's views regarding diversity, but if I'm going to champion diversity, I've got to defend diversity of opinion and political thinking along with ethnicity," the mayor said.

Wow, diversity of opinion. There's a concept that's foreign to these race-based groups. They could learn a thing or two from Mayor Funkhouser.