How could George Orwell shoot and elephant?

In "Shooting an Elephant" written in 1936, was George Orwell a coward for shooting the elephant? Is he a racist?
I believe that he was not a coward for shooting the elephant. After reading the narration, you have to picture yourself during this time in Burma. The British had forced themselves upon the indigenous people of Burma in the hunt for natural resources. Their excuse was justified by the belief that their culture was superior to the people of Burma. This act against these people created tension and a feeling of revenge or humiliation against any "European whites" especially from the older Burman priests who had nothing better to do than insult the British when they came near. George Orwell held the position of sub-divisional police officer in the town of Moulmein in lower Burma and was a witness and protector of the British imperialistic activities that had been bestowed on the Burman people. As a result, he became a continual target of harassment and humiliation from the yellow faced Burmans; which eventually turned his original feelings of pity for these people into a rage of disgust. On that day when he was called out to settle the problem with a raged elephant, he was quite sure in his mind that killing this elephant was not the right thing to do, nor did he really have the heart to kill such a praised animal in this kingdom. The Burmans used the elephant for work and the elephant was of great money value to the people of Burma. Besides, if he killed the animal, he was surely going to hear it from the owner. As it turned out, the elephant was tormenting the village only because of being "must" or "that time of the month" situation which usually wears off after a day or so. If you are woman, you can imagine what that town looked like. During the rampage, George Burman had run across a Burman worker that had been trampled by the elephant and killed. It was then decided that he had better get a larger weapon that could kill the elephant just in case he did not have any options; kill or be killed. At this time, all the town people had gathered to see what the outcome was going to turn into, especially since elephant meat could mean good eating for the Burmans. As Orwell approached the animal which was eating grass in a rice field, an enormous crowd had approached to the rear and intimidated him to the point that he had no choice but to shoot the beast or look like a fool for the activities he had stirred amongst the town. Not to shoot would make him look like a coward and the people would have humiliated him and disrespected him for the rest of his days in Moulmein.
He was not a racist. If you were spat on and humiliated by any group of people, you would have similar feelings of George Orwell. If he would have been a racist then he might have shown more aggression against these people than expressed in his narration. He was just trying to suppress the "already established" aura which was present in everyday life in Burma for the white Europeans.