It's not that those stocks hold specific value, it's that the denial of trade demonstrates to people a lack of personal power and freedom with regards to their own finances and where they may be directed.
it signifies a small loss of financial liberty and flexibility on behalf of the citizenry, which is enough to spark upset.
meanwhile large groups are allowed to systematically abuse in-place systems in a semi-visible public fashion without backlash or repercussion from regulators in most cases, exacerbating the perceived difference between 'Us and Them', fueling outrage and divide even further.
It's easy to consider why this might upset people.
Once again, no one is going to become violent over this. People aren't losing jobs, they aren't losing housing, they aren't losing food, they aren't being disappeared by balaclava'ed men in the middle of the night.
If further decreases the legitimacy of the regime currently in place, I'm not talking Democrats vs. Republicans or anything like that, I'm talking about the military-industrial complex which has got a strong financial wing added to it starting with the mid '80s. Once that legitimacy is gone then all bets are off.
