Yes of course, allowed to earn rewards, which I was hoping would be pretty clear with the quotation marks around it. :)

Pretty sure you are wrong about that

Yes, you are right, the downvotes and upvotes were pretty close, it has just felt like a lot more and the downvotes were much more memorable and impactful on an emotional level. It may not have been targeted but when you see a lack of many other downvotes it's hard to not feel that it is, which is part of the problem with community downvotes in general, the feelings attached.

But again this is all so far besides the main point. You are free to downvote whatever you like, as is anyone else. However, when the downvotes come from the largest downvoting trail in the history of steem and continue day after day regardless of content or its value, that is when it turns from stake holder consensus to bullying.

Something that likely won't attract or retain much of anyone.