HFT means several banks are competiting for your orders very aggressively allowing a tighter spread. So, you sell a bit higher, and buy a bit lower. This is highly beneficial.
HFT allows better-connected traders to front-run you. You don't get the best price because the HFT guy extracted risk-free profits for himself at your expense.
Front running is accomplished by HFT, but not all HFT is front running. HFT is simply the ability to execute trades quickly on new information, like earnings reports, fed meeting notes, etc. HFT back in the 17th century would simply have been having the fastest couriers and horses to carry news, now it's having the fastest software and data connections. HFT has a couple beneficial sides too, as it tightens the bid/ask spread.
Basically don't confuse a technology that can be used for bad purposes, to be the problem, blame the brokers and the regulators that allow it to happen.
HFT adds nothing to the markets of value[1] and lowers the value average players are able to extract.
[1] except liquidity which they usually don't add in a useful manner, they will tend to make highly liquid stocks more liquid while not adding any liquidity to stocks that are being harmed by illiquidity.