President’s Report Fall VIEWS 2020

President Jonathan Webb, BS, CI and CT

We’ve begun to unpack the reasons for our organization and where we have struggled in being beholden to the idea of a member driven organization as well as what it means to be a professional certifying organization. These philosophies and conceptualizations around who we are have been further fueled by the board answering a question that has plagued RID and the interpreting profession for a long time — who does RID serve? Moving beyond the binary question posed to create discord and conflict, the board has wholeheartedly proclaimed that RID serves our Deaf communities, and that we primarily do this through establishing standards of excellence for sign language interpreters and then ensuring these practitioners have the resources and tools needed to serve our Deaf communities effectively.

But why?

Albert Einstein is known for having said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.” 

I remember being that child that asked why? a half million times. Clearly, this extended beyond the normal age when the permission to openly question is typically squashed, as I certainly wasn’t a toddler when I remember having the discussion with my mother around why I was so inquisitive. The question why?, a sacred word for me, has served me well. While my use of why? has often been cited to tell me to stop asking so many questions, to accuse me of being filled with doubt, to judge me as unpatriotic or spiritually “dark”, and to design me as having problems with authority, the word has primarily served as a mantra that has given me the energy to dig a bit deeper and walk a bit farther. 

On a personal scale as an interpreter, why? is what has allowed me to practice excellence– one of the words we use in RID to describe what we do. Why do I have to sign in a way outside of my cultural norm in order to be accepted by my colleagues and those whom I serve that share a different phenotype? Why do I have to believe that any given sign equates a particular word, when we know that language in and of itself is a code meant to translate thought and concepts into a meaningful form for exchange? Why do I assume qualification is based on this or that criteria if the criteria are met and yet there is still consistent breakdown in communication? Why do I need to honor the power-wielding majority’s preferences when I see the ways in which marginalized peoples I serve are further abused? Why do I need to fit within a box of a particular practitioner model when my work should ideally reflect the needs and circumstances of each situation I enter and the communicators that exist therein? 

In my experience, why? typically leads me down a path to love. The first why? leads to others which lead to more. But eventually, nearly every time when I ask why?, I inevitably come to a place where I know what I must do and how I must act — and it is based on the notion of love. 

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.” -Albert Einstein

For years I have asked whyRID? I have asked this question as a novice interpreter, a young certified interpreter, a mentor, a teacher, a volunteer holding various levels of responsibility. I still ask the question today but I ask it with a different understanding. I ask the question why RID? based on a willingness to ask the question for over twenty years. I ask the question today having asked myself many times and in many ways, digging deeper and deeper, reaching my standard conclusion- love. 

Certainly, I am not alone in this assessment. We all may use different words or descriptors as labels to what we internally understand, but many of us do indeed love RID. Please make no mistake- most of us who claim love for RID have no real love of the institution as an institution. We have no love of the system; in fact, many of us deplore the system and machine that RID is at times. Instead, I would suggest, we love the ideal of RID and what we believe we have the power and ability to manifest through RID. We love our Deaf communities. We love that we have the honor of working in a field rooted in justice and equity. We love the people whom we have the honor of serving. We love knowing that justice and resistance are more than just fanciful words and concepts co opted by the trendy. Despite the problems that live uniquely in any group of people, we love the cultures of our Deaf communities. We love the languages and dialects- the strange beauty contained in both their simplicity and complexity. For whatever individual reasons and stories, we love Deaf peoples. And because we love Deaf peoples we choose to love RID because of its positionality to Deaf peoples and communities. We love RID because we see and feel the impact RID has on our Deaf communities- for better or worse.

In my worldview, to love a thing is to take ownership of it. If I “love” my car, my house, a book, my job, etc, it means that I deeply value it and care for it. This is different than loving people. In my worldview, loving people means we honor their growth process and lend them support in manifesting their destiny. 

As president of RID I have stepped up with a board of gifted volunteers to take stewardship over the profession of sign language interpretation in the United States of America. In this position I must deeply value and care for RID, because RID is a tool that supports Deaf peoples in their growth and the manifestation of their individual and collective destinies. RID stands in-between two extremes. On one side we have the majority phonocentric world we live in that both consciously and unconsciously marginalizes Deaf peoples through what we describe as audism. On the other side, we have communities of peoples who live according to the eye and touch and seek to work out their liberation from a phonocentric society to manifest a destiny that realizes basic human rights, justice, and equality. RID sits in the middle, most of us with the ability to hear. We sit in-between marginalized communities seeking liberation and their oppressors that seek what all oppressors have always sought- compliance, subjugation, acculturation, linguistic assimilation. RID stands in the middle between colonization and liberation. 

we utilize the privilege we have to resist audism so that Deaf peoples have greater space to utilize their own inherent strengths and talents for the purpose of liberation.

So, why RID? RID is because there are people in this country, both hearing and Deaf, that believe oppression is immoral. RID exists because there are hearing and Deaf people in this country that believe all people have a right to liberation, justice, equality, and basic human rights. RID exists because one small tool in the dismantling of efforts to further colonize and assimilate Deaf peoples is the use of interpreters. In the macrocosm, RID stands in-between oppression and liberation. But in the microcosm there is no difference — interpreters stand in between hearing peoples’ conscious and unconscious audism and Deaf peoples’ struggle for liberation. Why? Because we love our Deaf communities, and they deserve a fighting chance to live their lives. Why RID? Because all of us who serve as interpreters directly and monetarily benefit from Deaf people living in a phonocentric society that is riddled with audism. And because we love Deaf people, we utilize the privilege we have to resist audism so that Deaf peoples have greater space to utilize their own inherent strengths and talents for the purpose of liberation.

I recognize that much of what I share here will resonate with many. However, I also acknowledge that it directly contradicts some of the ways we talk about RID and our association with the institution and system.

If we ask why RID?, the question has a qualitatively different tone than asking, for example, why Walmart? 

Walmart [insert any retail corporation] is a place where if I take in a dollar to spend, I expect to leave with a product that capitalism decides is worth a dollar. I spend $100, then I expect to leave with a capitalistically determined equivalent of $100 in product.

RID [insert any nonprofit authentically aimed for social good] is an organization that serves as a coordinating and communicating home for those seeking to make the world a better place. When I contribute to this system the good I hope to benefit from it comes in the form of shifting unjust societal constructs that work against peoples’ liberation. The benefit is the promise of liberation, justice, and equality.

For a long time RID has fallen into the trap of trying to convince members to participate in this system by outlining a number of so-called member benefits. More than a few have participated in this ideology. Many of us have worked hard to enumerate member-benefits when asked by practitioners why they should associate (pay money to) themselves with RID. We talk about discounts on goods and services. We talk about products interpreters receive. We rely on the prevalent ideologies of our society, including capitalism, to explain why one should participate in RID. What I realize I have failed to do is ask the question:

What if there were no RID? 

Undoubtedly some other system would take its place and the cycle would begin anew. It’s not a stretch, however, to consider the dystopian reality of a world without RID or its equivalent. But instead of talking in negatives, I would like to share what I truly believe the member benefits are of belonging to RID.

The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf ~ A Few Member Benefits

1. The formation, legitimization, and maintenance of a profession that allows for people to be trained in said profession.

2. Establishment and promulgation of standards for interpreters.

3. Provides a centralized voice in promoting specialties within the profession.

4. Coalesces and disseminates a variety of views and perspectives on the practice of interpretation.

5. Works to educate practitioners on standard practices, best practices, and ideal practices.

6. Seeks to educate law and policy makers on standards of practice.

7. Monitors (and, formerly, developed) measurement tools to determine one’s worthiness of wearing the mantle of certified sign language interpreter.

8. Provides space for practitioners to come together to learn and develop better ways to provide our services, furthering the association’s mission.

9. Publishes and promotes a body of ethical behaviors meant to serve as a framework for the manner in which we provide our services.

10. Operates a system whereby those who have been wronged by practitioners can be corrected and/or disciplined and move towards alignment with our shared values and mission.

11. Screen and endorse educational opportunities meant to support and refine the practice of sign language interpretation. 

12. Establish and promote credentials that describe the quality and facet of the work we do. 

But what I choose to remember is that RID is a reflection of who we are.

This is but a sampling of how we can begin to respond to the question why RID? 

We join, support, donate, volunteer, and work within RID because, frankly, most of us are hearing or have the ability to hear. With that unearned privilege of being able to hear while living in a phonocentric society, we do what is necessary to make space for Deaf peoples to seek out, struggle for, work to, and hopefully realize their liberation. It is an honor to be part of RID. It is even a greater honor to contribute to and benefit from its success.

RID is not perfect. It was formed imperfectly. It has grown imperfectly. It lives today, imperfect. RID is simply a reflection of all of us. RID bears the prints and impressions we have given it with its founding up through today. RID is us. If we don’t like RID, then frankly, we don’t like ourselves. And I wouldn’t be in integrity if I didn’t share there are moments I don’t like RID. Colleagues over the years know that I’ve had a difficult relationship with this organization, and I continue to experience this cognitive dissonance at times. But what I choose to remember is that RID is a reflection of who we are. Within RID lives our backbiting, gossip, meanness, unkindness, jealous, competitive, diva-wielding attitudes. But we are also, individually, much more than that. Within RID lives our desires for human rights, justice, and equality. Within RID lives our belief in raising standards, our belief in excellence. Within RID lives a determination to do our best to get out of the way so that Deaf people can work out their liberation. We are not perfect; RID is not perfect. We have immeasurable potential for good; RID has immeasurable potential for good.

Why RID?

Because I love Deaf peoples and this is one way in which I can demonstrate that love.

Over the next year I hope to accentuate this frame amongst the membership. Very shortly you will begin to see brief interviews I conduct with people, simply asking them, why RID? I hope as these loving members, volunteers, constituents, and staff members share with you their #WhyRID, that you will join us and put out your own vlogs and communication to explain your #WhyRID.

In solidarity and love~

Jonathan

Jonathan Webb, PhD, CI and CT, NIC Advanced, facilitator, writer, activist, educator, and mentor, started learning ASL in 1986 and began interpreting in 1993. Over the years he has specialized in Visual/Gestural Communication, Mental Health interpreting, and Comedy and Storytelling interpreting. He has degrees in Interpreting, Liberal Arts, Deaf Education, and Theology, with post-doctorate work in Clinical Psychology. He has served at various levels and in multiple capacities within RID and the field at large. Currently, Jonathan teaches at CSU-Northridge, serves as a freelance/IC interpreter, presides over Sign Enhancers Inc., and teaches/facilitates learning and practice in dialogic techniques in the context of social justice and consciousness development. Hobbies include ocean and beach time with family.

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