Flag are an important part of curation and people also need to understand just as anyone has the right to upvote you they also have the right to downvote you. :)
I agree with this if someone is using their own stake. However, the accounts I noted were all using 14.9 Steem delegations from the steem account when their own stake was just 0.1 Steem. I don't really think that Steemit should continue to sponsor accounts who use their initial delegations in this fashion. (I haven't checked recently to see if those delegations have been revoked) In fact, I think Steemit should have an automated routine in place to identify possible anti-social flaggers and bring their delegations up for review.
Also, even if someone is using their own stake, I don't think there's anything wrong with the community taking note of accounts who are flagging in an anti-social way. It's all public information. If you enter a downvote, you do so with the understanding that the action is recorded on the block chain in public view.
I agree with this:
These flags are only a matter of hurt feelings, and actually, I hope they do some good by normalizing a few flags.
You make a good point regarding using steemit, inc's delegation to flag. I hadn't considered that part.
Still, I feel it would be a good culture change to teach new users that flags happen and are a normal part of life on SteemIt, instead of reinforcing the idea that flags are bad and wrong and should envoke a negative response.
They are just a tool for curation and can be used as often as upvotes.
I do appreciate the points you make.