Voices of Compassion Series - I
“We can’t talk about compassion without talking about…”
TCM is embarking on a series of interviews asking folks to talk about what they see as crucial elements along the path toward a more compassionate world.
I met Johana Schwartz several years ago at my synagogue (Beth Jacob Congregation), during her time living in the Twin Cities. Johana identifies as an Ashkanazi Jew, but has found connections with many other spiritual practices and philosophies over the years. She studied Irish history and Gaelic at Stanford because she “wanted to approach a culture that was unfamiliar to me, as well as to be versatile enough to promote understanding—whether in Northern Ireland/Ulster or to support efforts to sustain languages.” Johana then studied Hebrew in Minnesota after going on a Birthright tour of Israel for people with mobility concerns.
Johana explained that at her college Freshman orientation, she was greeted with a “social justice warrior's toolkit,” which galvanized her to get involved. Her adviser at Stanford was an Irish poet who “taught us how people who are politically oppressed should try to cast their voices through the arts.” While taking the poetry class, Johana helped Stanford host families who lost people involved in The (Northern Irish) Troubles. She said she learned from her professor how to help Protestants and Catholics feel heard and supported as they led peaceful efforts to reconcile. She explained: “On campus the first step was to hear their different religious perspectives on neutral ground. This process allowed them to model peace and forgiveness when they went home.”
Johana with her dog, Mitzi, at her Berkeley apartment
Johana also spent time volunteering at Authentic Voices of America—an away summer camp for teenagers with complex communication concerns at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Johana’s friend founded and directed the camp and recruited her to fly out every summer to be a counselor. Over the course of a week, she made sure to meet with each camper for meaningful conversation. One memorable moment for Johana was during a field trip to a major league baseball game when one reluctant camper saw her and then took her communication device out of her bag to promote her baseball team.
Johana explained that by Stanford’s “Senior Send-off” in 2003, she had a job helping writers with complex communication concerns cast their voices through publication. She said she has made a “Homeric Homecoming to the bay area”—coming full circle in her adulthood.
Johana has now been hired to help lead the new writers workshop at the Bay Area Ability Now and she looks forward to collaborating with talented artists at this studio.
Johana completed the prompt above as follows:
We can’t talk about compassion without talking about how everyone is a member of the protected class.
TCM: Why is the notion that “everyone is a member of the protected class” important to you personally, and why do you think it’s important for others to know about? What role does this concept play in your life? When do you see it and when do you notice its absence?
Johana: When I wake, I hold my breath until I rejoice at detecting signs of life stirring about my building. When I meet someone new, I look forward to each encounter like it's a milestone. Lives are sacred works to me. Each individual is really quite a miracle. I'll behold and defend others’ speech no matter what they say.
My aim is to enable everyone to live a dignified life, being supportive of their individual terms. So, “dignity on their own terms” can vary in 7 billion ways!
TCM: What kinds of experiences and/or people led you to this belief?
Johana: The place I used to live advocated for honoring each individual's position. Beth Jacob Congregation taught pluralism—to embrace/enable/ask/engage other people's traditions. College taught me a record of activism rooted in philosophy—mainly Marxism. While at Stanford, I was asked to be a part of movements designed to empower people’s unique voices. And my former residence helped me refine goals for the movement without imposing my agenda. The mission statement [of my former residence] reflected patience, forgiveness and open-mindedness.
I make few assumptions.
Here’s an example: I might proactively approach someone under the assumption that they want company. Because “everyone is communicating all the time”—something I learned from my former residence—I try to observe [the person’s] communication methods, responding to their preferences in a meaningful manner, regularly affirming them and actively confirming that we're still following their trajectory. I want to empower them and their agenda. And I support them as their agenda changes.
This process can look so many different ways—like contacting people I know on a regular basis to check in and socialize during and after a rough year overall; spending time in conversation with every camper with complex communication considerations as desired; bringing people from the residence to vote for their candidate; and wearing garments for worship they deem appropriate to help them worship safely.
TCM: How do you conceptualize the relationship between compassion and social justice?
Johana: People engaged in advocacy and social justice efforts could employ people with lived experiences, people from the cause. This is empowerment.
Johana attending the Black Lives Matter East Bay Bike Party Solidarity Ride - Oakland, California, June 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyjsS5TP0po&feature=emb_logo
“Nothing about us without us.”
Link the people who know first-hand about the cause with resources and have them lead the movement. If there's a conflict, ask: is there a compromise that could appease some of everyone's agenda? How could everyone be heard using nonviolent communication? When violent communication or violence does occur, ask: what is the message behind the action and can it be addressed?
Take the sitcom "Speechless,” for example. There are so many ways people with lived experience could help lead the process. Did they cast an actor with a disability in the role of a person with that disability? Who came up with the premise, and who developed it? Overall, do people want this publicity or this kind of publicity? Survey them and quote them in the dialogue with consent. Do they want the supporting cast to have relatives with disabilities? If so, can they bring those relatives on the set for care purposes, and could these relatives with disabilities also contribute to the show? Is this arrangement enlightening for the production crew? Is it distracting? Would a compromise be a quiet room on site? Or perhaps could there be a workshop where they can develop the dialogue? What do these guests want to be doing while their relatives are filming and what would be practical?
TCM: How do you connect the concept that everyone is a member of the protected class to noticing, empathy, and compassion?
Johana: I would add the practice of “confirming” between the acts of “noticing” and “compassion.” What this means is to get consent and confirm along the way that I'm still honoring another person’s agenda. Going back to the example above, where I might proactively approach someone under the assumption that they want company, I try to notice individual preferences and communication methods. Many people may want solitude or, perhaps for cultural reasons, do not want to associate with me. I respect this. I might ask myself: “Should I leave it at that and fade away or send someone else if they do want company?” It depends on the individual and their cultural adherence for that day, which may vary.
The point is, how we communicate needs to be based on the particular context and people with whom we are interacting. For example, although my agenda is to affirm all genders, I may use binary language when mirroring people who express support for Trump while talking with them. Our preferences can change from one conversation to the next.
