I was there and saw what happened too. Like you, I was shocked that one person had the ability to wipe out the whole chain. Apart from this platform, I'm studying blockchain technology as a future tool in voting- national and local elections, that is. I thought decentralization through blockchain was the way of the future; it might be, but what I saw that cat do really opened my eyes to how vulnerable this technology is at this point.
With that said, Steemit will get better because the technology will get better. Governments are investing in blockchain; corporations are investing as well, and they are taking security seriously. If we the people don't believe in it, it will fail, and everyone wants to protect their investments, right?