The bulls then accuse the shorts of telling lies or of being un-American in betting against a company's stock. Some short-sellers do come off like arrogant jerks, so it can be easy to dislike them. But even polite, calmly rational shorts get flamed mercilessly. Bulls who get mad at short-sellers, though, are almost always too emotionally wrapped up in their investment to recognize the merits of the bear argument. They often know a lot more than professional sell-side analysts know or care to admit.
Shorts have to be smart to survive much less to thrive.
Think about it. When you do this, your risk is fixed at your purchase price whereas your potential return is unlimited. A short-seller does the same thing, only in reverse order. So short selling is a lot riskier than just buying stock. That's why it's not for folks just learning about investing or people looking for low-risk returns.