This is the unfortunate problem with free downvotes. A lot of minnows have quit the platform due to increased toxicity. Whilst they have it much worse than an influential user like yourself, I'm sure you can a relate a little bit to how they feel. At the end of the day, it's too easy to say "just accept it", but we are social beings with emotions, and flag wars are asocial behaviour. I'll say what I've said many, many times over the years - if you really think free downvotes are a solution, then the entire system is fundamentally flawed and needs a complete overhaul.

It reminds me of Americans saying, "But we need guns to defend ourselves". No, you just need a better system, which the entire developed world has adopted decades ago. To be clear, free downvotes certainly work as a first aid emergency solution, but it's about time we did a thorough surgery to fix this injured beast. Getting distracted with more band-aids and hacks will mean the beast will die.

Don't take these analogies seriously, just having some fun.