This is a point dozens upon dozens of other users have already expressed. There is no way it's "supposed" to be used. We're all free to use it how we see fit. Having said that, think of it as a courtesy for someone giving you a reason for their downvote. It's not required, but it's courteous. Just like holding a door for someone in public is courteous. It's not required, but if you don't do it, some people might think you're being rude. Really though, none of us are in any position to complain about the amount of FREE money we get here.

Correction: It IS free money to you. Yes, you spent your time on your post. We get that. People post things all the time in all places of the internet. You chose to do it here, perhaps because there was a reward? I don't know, it's not my place to assume your intentions. Having said that, it's not YOUR place to tell ME what I'm agreeing to. I'm giving you my standpoint. I'm laying it out for you. How you take it is how you take it, but you don't get to tell me whether or not I'm agreeing with you. That's my job. 

Here's the FINAL bottom line I'm going to give you: You are here voluntarily. EVERYONE is here voluntarily. There are no rules here except the parameters of the site itself. We as VERY SMALL stakeholders on this site do not get to change how the site works. You have a choice until or if the developers decide to make the changes many people are requesting/demanding. Those choices are to accept the bad with the good (as I've said), because there is nothing in this world that is good without coming with its share of what people might consider bad/negative. I know it doesn't always feel good to be downvoted after spending whatever amount of time it took you to capture, process, post your image, but you're getting money you didn't have before because of it. No one is stealing anything from you because, technically, until the post pays out, that money doesn't belong to anyone because it's in the reward pool. 

Let's take a closer look at that word "reward", shall we? 

# re·ward
rəˈwôrd/
noun: a thing given in recognition of one's service, effort, or achievement.

A thing given....as in a "gift". I feel as if you're confusing that word with "wage".

# wage
wāj/
noun: A monetary compensation (or remuneration, personnel expenses, labor) paid by an employer to an employee in exchange for work done.

What you posted is not "labor", and Steemit are not your employers. If that were the case, then what you're disputing would be horrible, no doubt. But that is not what this is here. What we are given are the equivalents of gifts, because it is out of the kindness of the voters' hearts to give you their upvotes. They don't have to, it's not a predetermined arrangement as in a position of employment. 

I hope most people here are familiar with the term "never look a gift horse in the mouth"? If not, let me break that down: It means when someone gives you something, AS A COURTESY, you don't inspect it to see if you really want to accept it. And in this place, since there are so many "gifts" to go around, if a whale decides someone has received a larger gift than other members who also want to receive a gift, they have the power to downvote it in order to spread it around as much as possible. But - and this is important to remember - we are not required to like it or agree with it. 

It is better to find peace within yourself and not spend negative energy in protesting something which has been proven time and time again in the past 8-9 months to accomplish nothing here.

You are going to get downvotes. Eventually, if you stick around long enough, EVERYONE gets downvotes. It's how the system is meant to work.
If it's not something you agree with, you have 2 choices: 
- Accept it, remember that you're here voluntarily, and move on.
- Protest and waste energy.

You also have a 3rd choice, which is to leave if you so wish, but no true community would want anyone to leave. I, for one, hope you don't. There are power in numbers and we can make this place awesome. The key to that, as I said, is to accept the bad with the good. All good comes with some bad.

I'll agree that you're wasting your energy in a negative way that will make you hate this place.
That is no one's fault but your own. People will downvote you - accept it or don't.  
If you don't, that's tantamount to a 4yr old not getting as much apple juice in his bottle as Little Joey next to him.

You are confusing me for a troll. That's what trolls do. Not sure if you've noticed, but I'm having a conversation with you. Just because I don't necessarily agree does not make me a troll. If you can't control how you react to what I say, that is not my fault.

Some people feel this is one of the ways a flag may be used. Very roughly, when you make a lot of money, others make less money. When somebody feels that things have gone too far with your rewards, they can reduce it so others get a bit more of the pie.

So, it is not all bad. I do wish people would look at more than just the one post, I feel there's a difference between somebody making too much on each and every post because of a drone following, and somebody scoring big for once after 10 low-paying posts like you. But that is just one opinion among the many.

I upvoted your photo and am following you now. Not much, but something good came out of this.

How about think about it this way: Am I really entitled to anything?

Lately I had this same argument with a few people here, and after taking a walk and thinking about it for a few days I came to the conclusion that anything above 0 is good enough for me. I can't feel entitled to the payout estimate before the payout has been made. Anyone can disagree with others when the payout seems too high. I might feel a moral sting when it happens, but there's really nothing I can do to change this. So, anything above 0 is good, and unless I get downvoted to oblivion it's still better than nothing which is what I would otherwise get.

Just my .2 cents equivalent of steem de jour .