If one looks at a long term graph of the Dow the drop suddenly doesn’t look so exciting. Of course those with 401k plans suffering have plenty of reason to be excited.
The Dow is a false index. Underperforming stocks are replaced with good performing stocks (ie. Xerox out; Intel in). As such, the only original stock in the index is GE.
The index would be at the level of about 400 if it was a “true” index and didn’t shift out stocks every 5 years or so.