My perception, & goal, of wholesaling is to provide a financial benefit to both the seller (given their financial situation) & buyer (based on their investment criteria).  

There are TONS of discussion threads about this here on BP, just put Section 8 into the search query.Very high level:I love it for the guaranteed rent, higher rents (sometimes), long tenancies, added accountability for tenants through the housing authority and enormous supply/demand gap (there is a lot more demand than supply in most places for s8 housing).People often dislike it because the housing authority can be tough to deal with (this varies widely from one county to the next because it's administered locally), rents can be too low in certain areas (usually A areas) and there is a perception that the tenants are awful.I've found that extremely thorough screening negates the last issue.

I agree with Brian here - there are so so so many posts on Section 8 and people have very passionate opinions on the topic.Very high level:I love it for the guaranteed rent, higher rents (sometimes), long tenancies, added accountability for tenants through the housing authority and enormous supply/demand gap (there is a lot more demand than supply in most places for s8 housing).People often dislike it because the housing authority can be tough to deal with (this varies widely from one county to the next because it's administered locally), rents can be too low in certain areas (usually A areas) and there is a perception that the tenants are awful.I've found that extremely thorough screening negates the last issue. 

The first is that we are hard-wired for survival, and as such, our perceptions are often skewed, leading to make mistakes, and often resulting in an overestimation of threats, and an underestimation of opportunities.

@Jay Hinrichs from Wikipedia: a troll is a person who posts inflammatory, insincere, digressive[1], extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog), with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses[2], or manipulating their perception.

Do I have to worry about this perception or am I just overthinking this?

I find that most of the negative perceptions of SEC 8 are because PMs and landlords don't understand the HUD requirements and processes well enough to use them to their advantage. 

Sometimes it the perception of who is in power that drives this stuff.I expect it to continue upwards for a couple years.

Underscored by the many societal and economic issues associated with income inequality. 

Perception is king and it is amazing what the eye is drawn to and it leaves a lasting impression.