Devs making massive downvotes/flags to express an opinion of "disagreement" with a statement is indeed a disaster, yes.
The comment was not spam, nor was it highly rewarded when you flagged it.
The more Steemit founders and employees treat this system as a private playground where you feel free to use your stake to bully, the more everyone else is (or at least many are) going to take their toys and go home. For the good of Steem/it, please exercise some self control and restraint. If there is really a serious problem that needs addressing (extremely questionable in this case), the community can handle it without dev ninja-mine whale enforcers showing up to fix it for us.
"Leaked Docs Expose Steemit Founders Conspiring with Developers and Friends to Flag Steemit Post"
I think that's the right link.