I actually do think there is too much focus on pronouns and gender, though for some people it is something that preoccupies a lot of their life for various reasons. I'd imagine a trans person is confronted with these issues frequently because they see their identity being questioned so frequently. I do think there is something to be said about how western society may inform the ways in which people that don't conform to traditional gender identities behave, but that's not particularly relevant to pronouns, I don't think.
With that being said, I think English is a language ill-suited for 'gender agency' because the gendered pronouns are third person and innately require other people to acknowledge your preferences. You're placing a burden on someone else to not only remember your preference in name, but also in your pronouns. To me this is what I find so troublesome about the whole affair since I typically prefer to avoid placing burdens on other people to accommodate me. I also think that third person pronouns exist to be convenient and that treating them as a second name makes it as inconvenient to use as a proper noun. If someone prefers singular they, I'm much more likely to just always refer to them properly because it requires less effort to think about the sentences I am saying/typing, albeit awkward to my ears.
In Japanese, there are gendered first person pronouns that allow a person to easily communicate this part of their identity. Those who identify with the male gender might say "boku" or "ore," while someone who identifies as a female might use "atashi." Those that don't identify with either could use "watashi," since it is gender neutral.
It doesn't place any unnecessary burden on other people. You get to communicate it yourself. You don't have to rely on other people to acknowledge your gender in their language, you can do it yourself.
As for the 'they' pronoun, Stallman is at least correct in that it does present itself with challenges that other pronouns don't face. Since it has a duality of meaning it can create a lot of confusion, particularly when it's in print since there are far less context clues usually. In fact I implicitly pointed this out in my original comment.