User blog comment:Fliu/Chapter 971: And the Flashback Goes On/@comment-70.44.60.58-20200217074122/@comment-108.83.222.210-20200217215638

The characters in this anime are flawed, that is what makes them human and how we relate to them. I actually like that fact about them. He did the best he thought he could do with the situation in front of him at the time. In hindsight he made a mistake, but what human being doesn't make a mistake like this in their lifetimes. While it is unfortunate that he didn't have a person like Luffy to talk to at the time and avoid this, it takes a certain degree of courage to humiliate oneself in order to try and save others. In some sense it requires a similar kind of courage as the kind required to face and enemy in battle.