Oh, I felt sorry for her too! She herself didn't seem to understand why they were treating her that way. There was definitely a lot of old fashioned misogyny in this movie. If they liked a woman they objectified her, if they didn't like her they treated her like beep

Thank you, that actually makes sense. The reason for their contempt against her is a bit clearer now.
I still think who played Hot Lips managed to make me feel sorry for her character. Maybe it's the work of good acting?

It was all down to Frank Burns. Notice that while his in-your-face religiousness was annoying to Hawkeye and Duke at first, it was his horrific approach to his patients and his underlings that really set them off. Maybe they didn't hammer it home enough for some people, but Burns was meant to be a terrible, despicable person and his religious piety was merely a cover. He refused to take responsibility for his own mistakes that cost people their lives, deflecting blame to "god" or other members of the staff, even when it obviously wasn't their fault. He blamed the Bud Cort character for the death of that one patient, but he was already dead before he had arrived with the wrong type of needle. That was what drove Trapper to come to blows with him.
Also notice that Hawkeye had no problem whatsoever with Hot Lips until she revealed that she thought Frank Burns was a great man. That was what set him off. It doesn't seem that weird to me. I feel the same way whenever someone reveals they're voting for Trump.

Some claim Altman was inclined to misogyny and this was reflected in how she was treated.
"Chicken soup - with a beep straw."

The film is horribly edited.
There was a whole subplot with Ho Jon that was hacked to pieces.
It's called deleting scenes to suit the overall story and tone of the film.

True, Ho Jon's remains were on a truck in the compound as the gang was counting out their post-football winnings.
Hawkeye's attempt to preclude Ho Jon getting drafted were pretty clumsy. Likely nothing would've worked anyway, but Hawkeye wasn't very subtle about it.
Marriage is between one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others.

The film is horribly edited. There may have been more showing Margaret as too military or problematic. There was a whole subplot with Ho Jon that was hacked to pieces. Did you know he died in the film?

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