Cartoon: IMF Prez and "poor defenseless woman"

Re:  Cartoon published in the Charlotte Observer, 05/19/11

Vulnerable is not the same as defenseless.  Everyone is vulnerable to evil.  The cartoon’s allusion to “poor defenseless woman” was manipulative emotional rubbish.  Women are not defenseless.  They have great weapons of self-defense like education, work ethic, survival skills, intuition, optimism, and original thought.  The book Guns, Germs, and Steel made the point that military and economic success  had everything to do with wielding knowledge to benefit from natural resources in the habitat, and was not contingent on domination in hand-to-hand combat.  Beginning with the class of 2013, Algebra 2 will be mandatory for a high school diploma.  I cringe to think of a girl in this math class daydreaming about the default path of “poor defenseless woman” instead of embracing the struggle to achieve an independent, capable self-image.  Like the pink bumper-sticker says:  I hope she fights like a girl.