The No Limit River is like a natural river...it is neither good nor evil, it simply "is". If you respect it, and don't do anything foolish to put yourself in harm's way of it, you can enjoy its benefits while avoiding its dangers.
I do think poker players tend to remember the times the river turned on them and swamped their chips, while giving another player safe passage. But how many of those times did the drowning victim ignore all warnings and blindly dive headfirst into shallow water?