RobCur,
I'm really sorry that your family got burned by the market. You seem to be implying that your broker pulled something shady, if that is so, it might be worthwhile to contact a lawyer. If instead you were burned by Enron et al, the I hope that you can take comfort that those suckers are gonna hang.
Otherwise, I think that your opinions are a little reactionary. The fact that some people manipulate their knowledge of the stock market in order to rip off those that don't have it does not mean that the market itself is bad
If you lend money to a bank, you are paid for that service in the form of interest. In the stock market, you are paid more than just the interest rate because you assume more risk. You are being paid extra for the fact that you may lose. It's like playing the tables at Vegas, but the difference being you have a greater chance to win money than to lose it. Thing is, just like some people can win money at the tables in Vegas, some people lose money on the markets.
Educating yourself is the best way to prevent both losing money and getting ripped off. As in all things in life.