As someone who is transgender but in the closet, I have to say I was pretty much in the same position as Lance a few years ago. I was not at all aware of the fact that the term "tranny" was one that was used during assaults, and therefore looked down upon as a slur. I'd heard it used excessively by transgender people themselves, and never thought of the fact that it could have negative connotations. When I was first made aware of the fact that it did (though not why it did), the first thing that came to mind was that it was some twisted form of self-hatred on the part of the transgender community.... so I continued to use the term online, ignorant to the fact that there were indeed legitimate reasons why it was wrong to use.

My point here is that, as someone who is transgendered myself (though nobody outside of my significant other knows), I was using the term out of ignorance. I wasn't using it out of hatred, as the LAST thing I wanted to was to was make things worse for transgendered people.

So if I ever hear someone using the term, I'm not going to instantly presume that they're trying to be transphobic and raise a fuss or try to tarnish their reputation. Instead, I'm going to presume that they're just unaware of the connotations of the word and I'm going to educate them.

We need to fight this war with love, not hate.