Is short selling indices ethical?

It is generally agreed shorting (at an institutional level) isn’t the greatest thing for the companies who are shorted to oblivion. Does the same apply to shorting indices like ES and NQ? Has the shorting ever caused any sort of financial crisis or caused unreasonable loss to any entities?

Was having a debate with a friend and seemed like an interesting topic. With the premise that short selling individual companies (at an institutional level) is not right, does the same apply to indices? I know the average Joe does not have any impact on the market.

Edit: I understand the common response is shorts are a needed counterparty to longs. But let’s hear some arguments without that. Or maybe that calls into question the validity of futures markets for stocks/indices.