There is a reason why flags have been renamed to downvotes on Steemit.com. It's part of the Steem game and we should feel comfortable using them. Especially, so people won't be horrified once (hopefully) a separate downvote pool (or another downvote incentive) is added on Steem.
I know, the feeling of removing "potential money" from another post/comment is weird and somehow counterintuitive, but imagine people on Reddit wouldn't downvote. Of course, the economy is completely different on Reddit than on Steem (you can't buy anything with your Karma). However, downvotes are part of this system. You can't have the one thing, without the other.
So ... it's okay to downvote! (really!)
PS: We should take the conversation about the Steem economy seriously, which has been started multiple times over the last years by different people (incl. 
It's important that we challenge our beliefs and dare to make changes & contest the status quo!
PS2: This is not an appeal to downvote mindlessly. Use it wisely.
