An article about an Irish teacher who is in jail for not using a student’s preferred pronouns (indirectly—he was suspended for not using them, then continued to come to campus despite his suspension, which led to his arrest) is making the rounds on the internet. On one hand it amazes me that this is a hill people are willing to die on. I’ve had no issue using “they” to refer to a non-binary co-worker of mine. On the other, I do wonder if the trans/non-binary lobby is shooting itself in the foot in acting like a refusal to use preferred pronouns is “violence”, getting so hung up on this issue that now people who refuse to comply are portrayed as noble virtuous martyrs who won’t kowtow to wokeism no matter how much the system tries to break them and force them into compliance (that is certainly how this story is being portrayed in right-wing media).

What do you make of this issue? Are people making too big of an issue over pronouns?