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Cultural Sensitivity Shouldn’t End at Five O’Clock 215

ally talk with my friends first to find out if they have had a similar
experience.” Another avenue is to refer them to resources where
they may get more information: the advice nurse at the local
medical center, Consumer Reports, the library—and it may be help-
ful if we offer to interpret a phone call to help them access these
services.

A Question of Money
The subject of money can be an extremely sensitive one between
Deaf people and interpreters. From our point of view, we should
be compensated as professionals. In all likelihood, we have had
years of training, have worked our way up in the profession, and
still attend workshops and classes and conventions to further
improve our skills. What happens when Deaf people ask us out-
right how much money we make an hour, a day, or a year? Most
often, we become defensive. After we get over our shock at being
asked a question which is taboo in American hearing culture, we
may feel that it is none of their business, since in most cases it is
the state, the university, or the hospital that is paying us and not
the Deaf person.
The emotionally complicating factor (at least for me and I am
assuming for others as well) is that we know that Deaf people as a
group have been underemployed (Schein and Delk 1974; Jacobs
1989, Crammate 1987). Furthermore, notwithstanding the ADA,
one of the reasons they get turned down for many opportunities
is because of the high cost of interpreters.
Interpreters often “betray” Deaf people simply by “mak-
ing a living off the community” without contributing to
it. It’s especially their use of Sign Language…the jewel
of the culture, for individual, personal gain. It makes no
difference that the actual money does not come from
Deaf people. Deaf people suffer as a result. Employers
are reluctant to hire Deaf people for whom they will
have to hire interpreters. Even deeper than this is the
distrust of interpreters whose knowledge/skills are for
sale. (Smith 1996, 229)
Recently a Deaf person told me with some indignation that
interpreters make $90,000 a year! What to do? I could tell her
that I certainly don’t make that much, nor do most interpreters I
know. I could describe the drawbacks of working as an indepen-

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