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Dear Comics: Leave the Interpreters Alone. I watched a comedy clip recently where two comedians say something intentionally filthy, then pause mid-set and stare at the ASL interpreters. They squint. They laugh. They point. “Wait… why are there two of them?” Cue the confusion. Cue the jokes. Cue the audience laughing at the interpreters instead of with the Deaf folks who are literally there to enjoy the show. And listen — I get it. If you’ve never thought about access befor

I’ve been hired into staff interpreting roles more than once over the last few decades—schools, programs, offices, and community settings where the need for access is real and constant. And almost every time, the same moment arrives: At some point, a well-meaning manager looks at the schedule and asks (or quietly wonders), “Why aren’t you interpreting 8 solid hours a day?” Or the sharper version: “My staff interpreter isn’t working a full 40-hour week.” If you’re an employer