Yes, and that's too bad:
Obviously, we appear to be on the wrong side of the issue, no matter how right we are. Idealists hate being branded as evil-doers.
If anything, the attitude of the pennystock marks has hardened over the years. Back in the summer of 1998, when the MTEI scam blew up, people "invested" in the stock were genuinely shocked and angered when the SEC suspended trading. They understood that that was a Bad Thing, and that management had ripped them off. Most of the posters who'd behaved viciously to the Nasty Bashers did an about face and apologized. I think also that very few of the MTEI people got suckered into other penny scams.
Not so today. Now if the SEC suspends trading or brings a lawsuit, they're part of the problem, not part of the solution, suspected of being in cahoots with the Evil Naked Shorts. In the case of PCBM (now SRCI) the company and management finally settled with the SEC, paid fines and accepted sanctions, and STILL the True Longs think they somehow "won", or at least managed a draw. They're willing to believe anything, no matter how implausible, that sustains hope that their "investment" will make gazillionaires of them all.
And of course now the Nasty Bashers aren't just people who point out uncomfortable truths: they're the paid agents of...well, maybe the Evil MMs, maybe the Evil Naked Shorts. The marks believe in the existence of "paid bashers" as an article of faith, though none can point to an actual example.
This is more than a little scary. If these people aren't just plain stupid, then WHAT is the matter with them? |
