Talk:Ozpin/@comment-26073173-20181216191608/@comment-4141313-20181217152228

They gave up hope because he bothered to keep it a secret to begin with. I'm not saying he should tell the world, but if he actually trusted others as much as he wants people to trust him, then it would soften the blow about Salem. Picture this scenario:

They're back in the house in Mistral, and they're asking about him once Oscar shows up. He tells them that at the moment, Salem is indestructable and he has no concrete way to defeat her. But he then follows it up with him asking them to help him find a way and keep fighting to make sure she doesn't destroy what they cherish. They would be more forthcoming if a bit nervous and scared.

However, because he didn't tell them this, it becomes a case of betrayal in that he desires trust but won't give it, and their having to find out themselves since he won't trust them cause them not to trust him. So when they did find out, it comes across as him intentionally leading them on and not telling them so they wouldn't have doubts.

Its a cycle of mistrust that Ozma is ultimately feeding, and one of the flaws in keeping secrets for the good of others. No matter how you justify it, a secret being kept can infuriate someone when the secret is revealed. By not revealing it, the trust the person had feels betrayed, and the bound the had suddenly feels like it was built on a foundation of lies.

tl;dr He should have told them what they were signing up for, while adding an optimistic caveat so it doesn't outright turn them away. Because he feared they'd betray him, he made a self-fulfilling prophecy.