Yeah, I can understand that.
Basically they were portraying what a "man" was like during the period of the movies settings. From what I read he might have had the same tendancies in real life. At the time it was thought to be "manly" but now it's "abuse". Times change, usually for the better.
Another complaint I have is with those who call Jane a Communist while many top leaders in this country have had close ties to the late industrialist, Armand Hammer, whose father, by the way, was the founder of the American Communist Party. No one is calling them communists. Senator Gore, Albert's father, had close dealings with mister Hammer's Occidental Petroleum for many years. Hammer's company has been connected to the pollution at Love Canal. I have seen pictures of Ronald Reagan with Armand Hammer and it is well known that Hammer had a cozy relationship with Prince Charles and Diana.
Mr. Hammer founded the Armand Hammer World College, located in Las Vegas, New Mexico -- a small town not too far from Jane Fonda's Ranch.
In the late 1980's, I recall an incident where a correspondent for US News and World Report was being held by Moscow authorities and charged with spying. When that issue was finally resolved, the correspondent was flown home on, non other than, a private plane owned by Armand Hammer.