Ruth Schneider:
OUTspoken

A weekly column by Ruth Schneider covering GLBT and queer issues.
Schneider is a copy editor for The Olympian and can be reached at: rschneider@theolympian.com.

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Goodbye

OUTSpoken

By Ruth Schneider | The Olympian • Published April 16, 2009

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"I mean we definitely need something new. We just keep waiting for some new voice to come out of somewhere and say 'Hey, wait a minute, what is wrong with this picture?' "

— Happy Harry Hardon, as played by Christian Slater in "Pump Up the Volume"

I always wanted to be that voice.

I wanted to show the real people's lives. I wanted the rest of the world to see who we are: We are lesbians and gays; transgenders and bisexuals; we are white and black; Christian and Jew. We are queer, but more importantly, we are human.

And we have a voice. We scream from the rooftops that we are out and we are proud.

And that makes leaving The Olympian so hard — losing my column, my voice.

I've met so many wonderful people, both through interviews and people contacting me after my column printed.

Don't get me wrong — not everything has been peaches and cream. I get plenty of hate mail — and I hear from tons of people who are convinced they need to pray for my eternal soul.

But I also have heard from individuals who told me "Wow, that happened to me, too." And they told me I was a voice in the community that was much needed.

I even felt a little celebrity status, being recognized at queer political events around town and when I went to Jake's On 4th. (And just because I am wearing glasses, it does not mean I am incognito, as one reader asked me last weekend.)

For both the good and the bad, I thank all of my readers. It's been a fun ride, and in many ways, the thing I enjoyed most about my job.

Even though I'm losing my column, my story is not over.

I will be in Olympia through the summer, looking for other ways to get my voice out there. In August, I plan to attend Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, where I will pursue a master's degree in magazine writing.

When I graduate next May, be watching for my voice to rise again from the pages of magazines, screaming, "Hey, wait a minute, what is wrong with this picture?" until every single one of us is treated equally.

Ruth Schneider no longer works for The Olympian, but she still is so gay. Contact her at oody10@msn.com or http://twitter.com/RuthOUTspoken. Read her blog at ruthoutspken.blogspot.com. She also is on MySpace and Facebook.