Brownie points

I really liked this story because it explored the dying trend of racist culture. Not only did it exhibit a troop of black Brownies struggling with their identities as African-Americans but it was also a study on empathy. Once the troop found out that they would be beating up a Brownie troop of mentally challenged girls, our fearless heroes began to back off. It seemed as those the girls decided that they would beat up the other troop because Daphne was called a "nigger" thought none of them relate any stories about it happening before and why they were offended. They reacted instiunctually, their minds filled with "we have been insulted, we must react". And yet, when it came down to the actual performance of said revenge, they backed off and chickened out. Why? Because, though they felt offended (and had no proff, which is a different matter), they thought that someone else could have it worse off from them and that cult-like mentality of "do what the leader says" fell off its high horse and crashed instead of making a mistake that could have costed quite a bit of stress to their childish lives.

I am confused, however, as to Laurel's reference to the Menonnites and her obsession with Daphne's poem. "My father, the veteran" is a poignant line and does provide some feelings but what are those feelings toward? What makes Laurel feel so compelled by Daphne's words that she repeats them over and over again? And why does she describe Daphne's picking up of trash in the bathroom so fluidly? I want to understand the last line of the story but I can't quite find the meaning.