Two-Faced ASL Interpreter ?

Maria

Maria

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A friend of mine sent me this. I just watched this video in a few minutes ago. I think it would be interestin' to share this with you guys, because of this issue that could happen to some deaf people nowdays. Please, share with us what you think of this. :ty:

Enjoy ! :)

Deaf Insights: Two-Faced ASL Interpreter? Experience Finish you?
 
:hmm: interesting, it hasn't happened to me yet , but I feel bad for this guy through...
 
No it never happened to us...

At our wedding we hired an interpreter and my mom invited her to lunch with us and she turned it down. I told her I think she's either busy going another appt to interpret or she already had a plans afterward. My mom said, "OK". I respected my wonderful interpreter. :)
 
:shock: Geez!! What an anus!! > Interpreter!!! Sheesh!!!!
 
That stinks poor guy that this hearing friend took advantage of him.
 
It never happened to me, either. I am surprised when it happened to one person. That's very unfortunate for him. I know it hurts when it comes to end the friendship like this and I don't think it is fair to him. He worked hard patiently and that " work hard " should be rewardin' to him by havin' an interpreter to join and have a good time with him. Sadly, it doesn't happened. :(

I am hopin' that some interpreters will watch this video and learn somethin' by not to cut off the friendship with deaf clients/or customers.

I've met one DVR hearin' guy in Alaska and he knows sign language fluently. Me and a friend of mine came to visit him when he was playin' guitar in some lounges. We chatted and had a good time together. Of course, we don't bring the issue in when it is about job related or whatever. We talked about his guitar that he was playin'. :)
 
As an interpreter, I've never had to drop a friend for professional reasons. Deaf friends that I had before I became a terp are still my friends. I've also met and made new Deaf friends since becoming a terp. I attend many Deaf "happenings", especially silent dinners. I attend the weddings and funerals of Deaf friends, as a friend. There is no ethical reason to dump friends or avoid making friendships. Interpreters just need to know their boundaries, and how to separate "terp time" and "off time". Whatever happens during interpreting assignments stays in one "pile", and whatever happens between friends stays in another "pile". A terp can be professional and ethical without being a cold fish.

Think about other professionals who have to maintain ethical standards of confidentiality, such as doctors and lawyers. If a doctor's good friend becomes his patient, does the friendship stop? No. A real professional knows how to handle relationships correctly.
 
There it is, folks! The only answer we need! Lol...good going, Reba!
 
Poor fella, It never happens to me either. But if an interpreter you believe is a two face, the poor guy should have said something to that interpreter to be fired. Tsk!:ugh3:
 
I don't know about getting the interpreter fired BUT I do know that bad opinions of individual interpreters can spread fast throughout the local Deaf community, and that terp won't be on many "please call" preferred lists.
 
Reba said:
I don't know about getting the interpreter fired BUT I do know that bad opinions of individual interpreters can spread fast throughout the local Deaf community, and that terp won't be on many "please call" preferred lists.
Click to expand...

Ah you got a point there. It sad if the interpreters make mistake with the commuity of the deaf and go behind their backs. But as long the interpreters know that they have a job to do and not get involved way too personal on somone that needs help for interpretering service. You are right it can spread pretty fast like wild fire in the deaf community.
 
I was reading some of the postings at the video link. This one caught my eye:

"Oh I remembered that 3 of the interpreters did informed me that their OWN Interpreter Agency did WARNED them not to social with some of us in Deaf Organizations and Deaf Clubs."


The agency that I work for encourages terps to be involved in the Deaf community. We actually get more "points" toward our pay rate if we join more Deaf organizations.

Maybe it's a Southern thing. :P
 
I was taught that hearing interpreters owe the deaf community for our education in ASL. It doesn't matter whether our teachers were deaf or hearing, because somewhere along the line, ASL was passed along to our teachers who taught us. (Of course it's a sorry interpreter who never learned any ASL from a deaf person!)

As such, it is part of our ethical responsibility to donate our time back to the community. I've done things like working at Deaf Expo or volunteer interpreting.

So there's that aspect of it, that we don't turn our backs on the community once we are out there and earning money (I won't say "a living" because I never did) as interpreters.

To me this is the same situation and this interpreter is turning his back on the "community" (probably not ONLY this guy but obviously he was very important to this person becoming an interpreter) by distancing himself like that.

My teacher told a story about seeing a deaf friend at a party. A week or two earlier, she had interpreted for this friend, in a totally professional context, at a doctor's appointment. When she approached her friend at the party, she said "I haven't seen you in so long! What's been going on?" I thought it was a great example of how professional interpreters can have friends as clients and keep the two realms separate while maintaining confidentiality.

One of the comments on that video struck me, about how this friend possibly doesn't understand the Code of Ethics or doesn't know how to apply it to what CAN be an ethically sticky situation of having a friend for a client. Some people do go overboard in the interest of maintaining professionalism, and that can be excused. But I don't think it takes a great deal of intelligence or sensitivity to realize that turning one's back on a friend like that, especially one who had such an impact on one's interpreter education, is really uncalled for.

I hope the interpreter discusses this with more seasoned colleagues and realizes that he made an error in "reassigning" his friend in that way.
 
Reba said:
I was reading some of the postings at the video link. This one caught my eye:

"Oh I remembered that 3 of the interpreters did informed me that their OWN Interpreter Agency did WARNED them not to social with some of us in Deaf Organizations and Deaf Clubs."


The agency that I work for encourages terps to be involved in the Deaf community. We actually get more "points" toward our pay rate if we join more Deaf organizations.

Maybe it's a Southern thing. :P
Click to expand...

I think it is an agency thing. Maybe they get worried that the terps will start free lancing and then where will they be?

I suppose from an Agency perspective if a terp socializes at deaf events, why they are just giving there services away for free and we aren't getting our cut.

Or maybe I am just being cynical. I hope I am just being cynical.
 
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