I don't think the film necessarily places the majority of the blame for Jim's being mixed up on his mother alone. Jim clearly has lots of issues with his father as well. That said, dad's problems seem to stem in large part from his wife, so by extension, I suppose mom is the principle villain.
Anyway, I think it's telling that Jim's first thought about what he'd like to see happen between his mother and father is for dad to clock mom. Not simply stand up to her, or tell her to go to hell, but to resort to physical violence. I think that approach was typical of the time. (I also agree there'd be an uproar if this was used as a straight statement today. After all, some people now object to Ralph Kramden's various "Bang! Zoom!" threats to hit Alice.)
But Jim's remark also shows something else: the film's own ambivalent attitudes toward violence, depending on the circumstances. While at certain times the film clearly denounces violence (when Judy's dad slaps her, or the police shoot Plato), at others it depicts it as an unhappy but understandable consequence of rootless teens (the knife fight, the chickie run), and at still others it seems to justify it (Jim's "knock mom cold" remark, his tear out of his house when he assaults his father and almost his mother). Yet none of this detracts from the film, or even seems inconsistent with its message(s).
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