I see Steem as the foremost product to consider.

And what product is that? You mean the tokens? Like every bloody crypto project? Wow, Steem is so special.

There are not that many altruistic capitalists

There's no such thing as altruistic capitalists. Everyone is here for their own benefit. Period. Capitalists actually build things for profit. Simply holding tokens is not being a capitalist. Simply stacking coins is not being a capitalist.

So when profiteers are part of a select few who prop up the main product

Again, what is that product? They are here for themselves, not for whatever altruistic reasons you keep citing, but not providing. Oh? You mean propping up tokens? They bought in once. They started non-stop selling. That's not propping up anything. That's called priming their own pump. Or in crypto terms, priming their own mining rig.

a massive downvote on a whale is like a mini upvote for everyone else

And what type of whales was he speaking? All whales or just some bad ones? Because I don't see him openly tell people to take on @theycallmedan or @acidyo, etc. You know who he's referring to.

Or should we respect their stake and appreciate what they do for the value of the token?

Respect what? Your right to be the last bag holder?

I can concede that the initial distribution and reward mechanism favor those unsavory behaviors. The way Steem is set up, it makes no sense to vote for anyone else.