It is a terrible image to bitStamp , the bitcoin as protocol is very fine ... The error/mistake is from the negligence of bitStamp.
True, Bitstamp is the one to blame and Bitcoin is a good protocol, but that is not what most people going to read. The people that are not on the forums and only get the highlights will read there was another theft of Bitcoins. Which is not the whole story with all the in and outs, but still its the truth. Its more negative news.
Yeah you effectively still have to deal with centralized exchanges and thus depend on their trustworthiness. People will furthermore confuse things. This is pretty bad PR for Bitcoin. Nothing positive about this. Still, Bitstamp is handling the whole situation okay. Not good, but not bad either.