Free market means, anything goes, including retaliatory flags if someone chooses to.
You are incorrect.
Free markets do not encompass retaliatory actions as part of the dynamic.
Retaliation means in reaction to an aggressive action ( contravening the non aggression principle)
If the NAP is not contravened, it cannot be retaliatory , but initiated.
The upvotes given are a positive action - free market.
The downvote is a negative action - not free market.
defending the action 'becuase that's the system does not make it morally correct, using the true free market principles as the template.