Merton, Racism & Non-violence

Merton, Racism & Non-violence
Originally uploaded by brotherdan44.

Kristen Wisniewski, a former Daggy Scholar and personal friend,

spoke in this session. Using Merton, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King as

common travelers on the journey, she spoke of discrimination in Merton's

day and in our day.


"We are more sophisticated today," she says, but our techniques allow

us to kill and hurt others without seeing the fear in their eyes. We can

now do it by remote control. Violence against non-whites continues. "The

cycle of violence continues," she states, and "we have not learned to

treat others with dignity." She describes Gandhi and his influence on

Merton. "Racism is alive and well today in America," she says. The war

on terrorism is another way of continuing the war of violence and

racism.