There are two kinds of people involved: those trying to make a point and those trying to make a buck. Some people trying to make a point are going to make a lo

There are two kinds of people involved: those trying to make a point and those trying to make a buck. Some people trying to make a point are going to make a lot of bucks as well. And some people trying to make a buck are going to lose a lot of money. Not everyone can get out of an inflated stock with gains, pretty much by definition. And those least likely to understand the point are also probably the ones buying into the stock late (and at an inflated price). The mix of who makes and loses money is going to affect how society sees this. It will look somewhere between an egalitarian social movement, or a few now-wealthy loudmouths who took everyone else for a ride. Making money in a bubble is all about timing... and it gets ethically complicated when some traders have control of the timing (in this case by declaring whether the vendetta against Melvin is over or not). Note that I have made no ethical considerations for Melvin; they knew what game they were playing and are not victims here IMO.