So... we should stop placing text within images? Any other bright ideas?

That's a questionable argument. Personally I am of the opinion that any person is the sole proprietor of their own body and as such should be able to use it as they see fit. Alter it, have sex in whatever way pleases them, even kill themselves if that is their will. However, I know that some people see this in a starkly different light. For example they see one's desire to transition as a sign of mental illness. In my mind, punishing these people for having this opinion (so long as they don't physically harm anyone based on it) is no different than punishing me for my opinion, or you for yours. In short it is probably ill advised to declare any dissenting opinion to be inherently evil.

Also, respect and courtesy are not the same thing. Being polite, observing others' wishes, etc. is courtesy. Having reverence for a person because of their actions (achievements or qualities they demonstrate) is respect. Using these words interchangeably is incorrect. For instance I can respect you for xyz, but still be rude to you. The opposite can also be true, I can be courteous yet have not even a little bit of respect. The main difference is that courtesy can be expected and even demanded, while it's utterly absurd to demand respect.

The solution is to post the text as text, so that it can be read as text, and hence is accessible to those who can't view images (like those using screen readers).

There's a reason the HTML IMG tag has an ALT property, and why the VIDEO tag has a place to put text that shows up if the video isn't supported by the browser.

The moment GOG provides an alt property to their square brackets img, I'm sure we'll all use it. And I bet Netflix Hulu and YouTube post movie scripts for people who are viewing their sited on Mosaic 1.0 =)

The problem is that, even if the person doesn't physically harm others, the person is still doing mental and emotional damage to such people. Such damage can, in some cases, lead to self harm and even suicide.

There's also the fact that one can otherwise do harm, like denying the person in question the right to transition. (This happens, for example, if the person's parents are transphobic.)

As I said, you don't need to convince me that a person should have this right. I already believe so. I'm all about personal rights and freedoms. That includes the rights and freedoms of the people I disagree with. For instance I hate socialists and certain other religious fanatics with every fiber of my being, yet I would be very troubled if suddenly they were punished for voicing their beliefs. Free speech is free speech. Now, just because someone says something it doesn't mean that we have any obligation to be their audience. I am all about removing barbarians from my life once they've proven themselves to be barbarians. Yet punishing them for it ... that's going too far.

As to your point that when someone is mean to a person it causes that person harm, I tend to agree that it probably does in some cases. Yet restricting meanness is going to far. You can't force these things, the best you can do is ignore mean people and try to remove them from your life. If you try to force it, however, it gets pent up and then comes out explosively. The current backlash against political correctness is proof of that.

Now, I am all for courtesy even towards people I don't respect. But courtesy has to be expressed willingly. The "political correctness" that people are up in arms about is just mandated courtesy.

Happy listening to the final postgame level theme for Wizardry Empire: The Staff of Resurrection.

(For those who haven't heard it, it's a slow Japanese theme that is in 5/4 time.)

* Triggered.

Masturbation taught me that many years ago.

It's taught me so much and made me the person I am today.

As of this post, the reciprocal of my Rep is ridiculously high.

(This post made when my Rep was 0, in case it has changed by the time you read this.)

Finished a 94.7km bike race (yesterday though but I'm still happy about it). I was pretty slow however and seriously considered to drop by the medical tent 5kms from the end. Think I messed up my race snacks though. I'll have to put one or two emergency burgers into my backpack next time :P

Congrats! Please tell more!

Thank you :) Not much to say I'm afraid. It's this big annual race held in Johannesburg. This year there were a little under 27000 riders. It's called the 94.7 because of the Johannesburg radio station 94.7 FM and the route is planned out so that it's exactly 94.7 km. Some highlights include a stint on the N1 highway, Johannesburg's inner city and one lap around the Kyalami race track. The race is a loop but unfortunately Johannesburg is very hill-y so there are a ton of ungodly inclines which amounts to a gross climb of about 1.5 km. That's what damn near killed me :P
What I especially enjoyed was the bystanders. Thousands of people set up a few gazebos and chill out for the day somewhere along the route to encourage the riders. Some even hook op hosepipes and spray any rider that comes in close to cool off, which I did 3 times :D

You mean like your numerous posts where you call people homophobes and bigots just because they don't share your opinion?

You forgot calling people (you and me) gay.