(I think you may have been confusing me with LH, robomatic).

" ... people who are witness to the situations are aware that alcohol and drugs are just as often an excuse for bad behavior, not necessarily the source." -

I don't know what the basis could possibly be for that observation. It seems far more obvious to me that countless instances of 'bad behaviour' would not have occurred without the consumption of alcohol. The real 'source' is often psychological/emotional/psychic disturbance resulting from abuse, neglect, etc., etc., which leads to alcoholism, and bad behaviour as an effect of alcohol consumption. I have known far too many otherwise good, decent, even gentle, Native people, who under the influence of alcohol have hurt others and destroyed themselves to be able to agree with that (above) interpretation.

"In world history, the treatment of most women as other than a kind of property is relatively recent."

I trust that one or two of our female contributors will clobber you over this one ...