You mke some good points, as always, Joey. In my opinion the use of "shadow banning" post extends here (now) beyond just graying them out, but making them inactive links, as was shown this past week.
I am not against downvotes, but I think the right to do it should be limited and tied to an account's actual contribution to the site in the form of providing good content. People like @bloom are here ONLY TO DOWNVOTE and do nothing else of any value, and that needs to stop.
RE: In a few minutes, and with Steemit's full approval, @Bloom (Blumenthal? Bloomberg?) will come along & wipe out my posts...