Thanks for sharing your perspective. I see value in getting away from gender based pronouns, but I sure don't want to hurt feelings by trying to be neutral.

"If you're not sure, ask." Easy enough if you know the person at least a little bit; not good for strangers. "Pardon me, are you a man or woman?" will draw a dirty look if not a punch! And we in America aren't generally sophisticated enough for "Pardon me, what pronoun do you prefer?" :-)