A Message From the BACI Chair
by Andy Ta

Trying something new can sometimes trigger fear, inhibition, resentment, or even a longing for the old and familiar. Let’s talk about food, for example. When was the last time you had a Vietnamese hotpot or beef vinegar fondue with anchovy sauce? If you’re not a native Vietnamese, chances are you never have. Just the names of these dishes might entice some of us and turn others off. But the general feeling is that you probably want to know a little bit more about them before taking that first bite.

The courage to accept something new is not the absence of fear: it is the belief that other things are more important than fear. Take a new dish, for example. It’s natural that all of us fear we won’t like it, or that we might end up sorry that we tried it. But if we give into that fear, we miss out on all the wonderful things that life has to offer us, like something that ends up being both delicious and exotic. Like Bertrand Russell said, conquering fear is the beginning of wisdom.

Now, are you ready to try something new? How about becoming an employee? A staff interpreter? An interpreter as you’ve always been, but now with some of those rights that everybody else has had but you?

Let’s think of SB371 as a meal, but not one that satisfies your taste buds or the kind that you have a fancy waiter place in front of someone you’d like to get to know a whole lot better. No, this is a meal that will nourish you, give you the strength and energy to live a longer and healthier life, that will be stable and filling enough so you won’t have to moonlight just to find snacks. This is even the kind of meal that will really make your mother proud.

Let’s look at what went into this meal. It’s well thought-out with all the concerns of our many diners in mind. It’s well-balanced so that your health is taken care of. There’s all kinds of options for the entrees and even a choice of desserts. Look here, there’s a seat with your name on it and you are allowed to choose when you want to eat. You get to discuss with the chef what goes on your plate. Even your fortune cookie is guaranteed to make you get up from the table with a smile on your face. Last but not least, the restaurant is happy because it will always have lots of repeat, satisfied customers.

The table is set, the dishes are laid out on the table, and good smells are coming out of that kitchen. Dinner is about to be served. So why are there some people holding back, doubting the ingredients, wondering if a waiter spit in their food?

Remember what Anaïs Nin once said? “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

All the bawling and grumbling I’ve heard from a precious few about interpreters becoming employees makes me wonder whether some of us truly take our work, our livelihood, or the future of our own career seriously.

Let me just say that BACI is here to help. That’s what a professional association is for. You are BACI. That’s what camaraderie is all about. It’s time we touched our own fears and calmed them with the knowledge that we alone now have the power through this new law to control our own destinies.

Come on in and sit yourself down. Dinner is just about ready. I’ll even teach you how to master those chopsticks...