My favorite type of arguer is the one who bashes your idea with contrived "facts", no proof, and no alternate solution to the question other than "There are so much better things out there".
I’ve seen more than 18% growth in my IRA this year which would be by most accounts a bad market year.
Just because there are bad apples in the industry, it doesn’t mean that you should pack up your shit and give up on the notion of paying someone to professionally manage your investments.
This would be a good place for you to inform the masses what other kind of investments would offer the tax advantages, long-term benefits, AND monetary return on investment... Or you could just drop your knife and get out of this gun fight.