Yes, this is a very risk gamble. Unfortunately, many people do not share this view. A good percentage of them have encouraged their coworkers, friends, and/or family to also invest in this sure way of getting rich.
From what I've seen, stocks which attract promoter types (e.g. WillyWiz, Green Baron) and people inclined to create and spread unrealistic projections and stories (e.g Sterling, Pedro, Dr Diamonds, etc) or are purposely pumped by insiders will also attract people who act as a counterbalance. Those who fit into this latter category get quickly labeled as "bashers."
The feeling you experience when going after bad guys in the military is probably the same feeling most "bashers" get. For you, the bad guys might be drug runners, terrorists, insurgents, etc. For a basher, the bad guys are hypesters, those who spread misleading/wrong information, and dishonest insiders. They don't have arrest authority or authorization to shoot the opposition so they use the power of words.
Our securities regulators are severely undermanned. So, regular people who see others being taken advantage of will step up and try to help fill the void. IMO they are just as patriotic as you are for joining the military. Well, on second thought maybe they are even more so because you freely admit here you don't even care if people you're supposedly helping to defend from harm get hurt. Being in the military, you help defend our entire country against foreign and domestic enemies not just your own personal house. For most "bashers", they're doing the same thing only it's in the marketplace.
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