It’s called a dog whistle. You don’t have to specifically mention race or gender in order to imply something about it. It’s not inappropriate. I didn’t flag his comment. Someone else did. It should have been flagged and rightfully was.
I think your points would come across better if you didn’t use such extreme words (absurd, highly inappropriate, absolutely). It’s your opinion, not a fact.
I also find it funny that _my_ comment is highly inappropriate but the actual comment that was flagged is not? Why do you think that? I’m assuming you didn’t get a chance to read it, which begs the question, “Why did you feel the need to champion this cause?”