Well, I don't consider FReepers a PC audience. But if they don't argue against what she said and instead choose to trash her looks, then they lose by default!
"How about a debate with a slob in a business meeting, or a police station, or a political meeting, or in the military? The slob loses every time because of their lack of reverence for their peers and superiors."
That may or may not be true "every time." A couple of things here though. First, this debate is not in one of the above scenarios/locations, and if the author didn't post her picture, someone responding would have to argue the content of the article, and not the looks of the author. Thus, having seen the picture of the author, the people responding to the article should concentrate on the words, not the looks. Second, the picture is not of a slob, it is just of a woman who is not attractive.