I agree that these free downvotes are really getting out of hand. In theory, they are an excellent tool to counter blatant abuse and avoid junk from getting into trending. In practice, they are making steemit into a much more toxic place and the idea that you have to justify who you vote for is just crazy. Also that this entire idea that whales who naturally have bigger post payouts have more incentive to use their big free downvotes as more will flow back to them seems quite off as a mechanic.