Told you. I think when you see the glass half-full, you will be better off. That doesn't mean to be niave. It just means will the "strongest" companies survive and the answer was and is, yes!
I bet there's some people who got wiped out when WFC went up over 30% that day. I don't wish that on anyone, but I believe crashes only occur when no one anticipates them (i.e. in the middle of a severe bull market of irrational exuberance). As you can see, that's the way I view I have of the stock market.
In 1987, it had reached a high and by year-end, it actually had a higher value than the beginning of the year despite that one-day 22% drop.
If you study stock market history, you learn the dangers of buy stops and sell stops, but especially sell stops. The 22% drop that occurred in '87 occured because of these sell stops. It was called portfolio "insurance" and that's why so many people got hit very hard when these stops executed! They can be very useless and they can take you out at the time the stock begins to rise. The WFC, WB, and LEND examples indicate how you can get wiped out on a short when you use a buy stop to cover your position.
Buy high-quality stocks, instead of relying on stops. Obviously, you can get hit very hard but at least than you won't get out of a stock at the wrong time. For example, you would have missed the run up in GME due to a sell stop.
Aqua