I am a firm believer that users can wield their stake however they see fit. However most people who use this justification for excessive self voting, vote selling, etc. only believe in “the code is law” when it comes to upvoting. If they are downvoted into oblivion they’ll never acknowledge it as a valid use of vests. They are often the first and loudest to cry about how others have chosen to use their shares.
I’m overall happy with the mechanics of the system, I’d like to see more of a cultural shift that does free people to use their vests as desired, including a lot more flagging!