As others have pointed out in other posts, they are using Spez as an escape-goat. It makes total sense. Once they get rid of Spez, their policies will remain and the hate will no longer have a tangible target.
Escape goatse paints a more vivid picture. The more despicable and hate-able the hate sink, the better it is for the true masters of the realm.
Some months in the future…
u/notspez: “Hello Reddit, this is u/notspez. I’m the new CEO of Reddit. Pic related, it’s me. We snoos stand together.”
Reddit: “WE DID IT REDDIT! WE DEFEATED SPEZ! REDDIT IS SAVED! WOHOOOO!!!”
…serious now, I agree with you. It’s a lot like Ellen Pao, except that spez probably knows that he’s being used as scapegoat and he’s OK with it. The business itself is rotten, and the very fact that they’re giving spez a green card to screw with the userbase shows that anyone who they put in place would be as trashy as him. Fuck spez and fuck Reddit Inc.