User blog:Nerakil/Why do some people dislike Gale?

I've noticed that a lot of people prefer Peeta to Gale; there's also been lots of talk about how terrible Gale is and all, so I always thought there was something in the latter books he does that is so unforgivable it makes so many fans dislike him, but finishing Mockingjay, I can't say I notice anything particularly despicable about him, or makes him worse than Peeta.

The big thing a lot of fans mention is how Gale killed Prim, and the way they go at him about it, I would have thought that he had the intent to do it or he actually acted on it or something. I really don't understand why Prim's death is put entirely on Gale. If anything, it was most likely President Coin that issued for the bombs to be dropped there, and yes, she did pay for it in the end, but what did Gale do, really? If memory serves, he designed the particular type of bomb with the enemy in mind, not Prim, but people react to it as if he purposely designed and hurled the thing in Prim's direction personally or something. Unless I'm missing something here, and I don't deny the possibility because I'll admit I did rush through Mockingjay a bit, I find it a bit of a stretch to hold him accountable for Prim's death when he only designed the type of bomb, with a completely different intention in mind ages ago, that happened to take her life.

But on to the actual personalities. I always thought Gale was more real than Peeta. No, he's not the perfect, selfless, Gary Stu-esque character that Peeta is, but really, who is as perfect as Peeta was portrayed in this series? Aside from the insanity caused by the hijacking, not a single act of his wasn't noble and kind to the extreme. I have nothing against that, and I do like Peeta, but I don't think Gale should be condemned just because he's more human and brash than Peeta is. He can be selfish and lose his temper at times, but if you put yourself in his shoes, he doesn't really get upset for no reason, and all of his actions, good or bad, are backed up by something that happened in his past that fuelled him to do it. He acted compassionless when he suggested they destroy the Nut, for example, but that was only because he felt like district 2 aided the Capitol in destroying their homes as well. It's kind of the "an eye for an eye" kind of thinking, but can you really blame him? If I lived in district 12, I'd be pissed at district 2 and the Capitol, too, and saving their innocent wouldn't be the first thing on my mind while planning an attack.

I just genuinely want to know why some people don't like Gale. Everyone can have a opinion, of course, I just want to know why for this particular one because I found Gale quite likeable and relatable in much of the series.