There's often I forfeit them or decline them or even self-downvote when I notice some big stakeholders sent a post of mine past a threshold I deemed acceptable, and I've yet to see any others do something similar.

I'm not sure really what it is about hive but there is a strong sense of entitlement on this platform

Maybe we ought to show people that being engaging is the best way to attract more users to your posts and if your posts aren't getting any visible consumption then maybe they ought not to have any rewards.

I agree! Entitlement! should be frowned upon and heavily penalized. And anyone who dares to show it, ought not to have any rewards at all.