I think in relative respects, there needs to be more thought to the flagging system in general. A thread shouldn't be penalized if flagged a lot -- it should be

I think in relative respects, there needs to be more thought to the flagging system in general. A thread shouldn't be penalized if flagged a lot -- it should be brought to the attention of the moderation staff and then decided upon. These should all be transparent notes, e.g., [flag submitted], [flag rejected], [flag accepted]. On the content of this story in particular: it's not a win/win. But there's an inherent risk in becoming too insular by letting a majority of users decide the outcome on posts the are about minorities. The flag button looks a lot more like a "censor this" button or a "down vote" button than it does a "this doesn't fit the guidelines" button. Maybe that's the goal, but if it is, it should be made clear that's what it is.