In the modern world, most people live in a state of learned helplessness, because they have been told that the societal systems around them are very complex and they don't have a hope of comprehending them.

An event like this, while not being a be-all-and-end-all, can give commoners a taste of blood -- that maybe they are just as smart as those elites, that maybe they can use the systems for their own benefit too, that maybe they don't HAVE to live under the boot.

It's the hope that matters, because there are always more opportunities.

99% of them are doing more than just not minding Melvin's issues, they're actively feeding off Melvin. Melvin is going to be (or is already) selling off what they have in stuff like FB, MSFT, AAPL, etc, and it's not the retail traders who are benefiting from this, it's the other parts of the investment banking system. Even the sales traders are going to be on the phone with Melvin going "Sell 200k AAPL? No bother."