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So the only two possibilities are:

  1. There was some one off site glitch that happened at the precise moment bernie captured the image

  2. This entire war was started based on a lie and bernie deceived his own viewership by manipulating the image for personal enrichment and to smash the competition.

I am wide open for alternate plausible theories. I will say though that based on how quickly bernie smashed my post.. while it is not an admission of guilt, does not bode well in the eyes of the public. I would of hoped useful debate or conversation regarding the images source, where he got it, how he saved it, etc. would of been more beneficial to his cause.

it really doesn't matter how the math computes as far as the percentage of the reward pool ... the huge upvote from the questionable whale was asking to be countered by another whale. Bernie was on the money (no pun intended) on that action.

Bernie could use sticking to the point rather than engaging in the name calling. I do have some understanding of his response though based on some of the morons I've encountered on this and their tone-deaf response to any effort to point out how this works.

I understand how the math works, and while I do believe the rewards given to haejin are a bit over the top, objectively I also see the hypocrisy of what bernie has been doing. This being evident by his collection of equally ridiculous rewards to the tune of nearly $20,000 for the 3 posts bitching about haejin. There is I believe an option to defer rewards back to the pool which I doubt bernie is going to utilize.

I believe that you cannot sacrifice your integrity regardless of circumstance, that you cannot lie, mislead or deceive your followers regardless of whether the opinion you hold is correct or not.

If in fact he intentionally and deliberately altered an image so as to profit by deceiving his audience, then that is much more egregious than the ridiculous rewards haejin is receiving.

Also this is the system here, its not my fault, yours, bernies or haijens . It's a steemit platform issue and one that would need to be addressed. It's a don't hate the player hate the game kinda thing.

Lastly and again going back to integrity.. when I see this..

bernstilladick.png

Good try, but his posts are nothing but 2-3 sentences [...] compared to the absurd rewards.

And then a $500 dollar post from the same author consisting of 2 sentences..

https://steemit.com/steem/@berniesanders/sometimes-things-aren-t-as-they-appear

I again see hypocrisy and wonder whose best interest that author is actually trying to serve.

@pawsdog you raise some interesting points pertinent to this situation.

Having been watching @berniesanders over many many months I'm very aware that he has been one of the few whales who actively and consistently works on downvoting those who would take negatively take advantage of the platform.

So, on a one to one situation, bernie earning large funds to complain about the large funds that @haejin is earning could be very validly called hypocrisy, those funds offset what he doesn't make while fighting reward pool abuse across the platform.

That reward pool abuse over time dilutes the returns on investment for all on STEEM who work to build up their investments. So, while @haejin is apparently providing a service to his supporters, bernie is providing a service to the whole community.

I don't often like his method of delivery, in regards to his way of addressing people but I understand it.

Having said all that, if he did purposely alter a graphic to bias his already valid claim, that is just dirty pool.

The real question is, was there intent.

Just as we don't have an answer in regards to the lone whale upvoting haejin and only haejin.

True, and in regards to @ranchorelaxo (haejins whale).. He made two posts, which could of been his way of introducing himself to the community and opening the door for dialogue and perhaps conversation as to his upvoting habits. It was a good opportunity to invite him in, make him a part of the community and perhaps motivate him to upovote other authors as well.

https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@ranchorelaxo/help-create-a-clear-and-simple-tutorial-for-buying-bitcoin-or-cryptos-in-the-usa

But what response does he receive at the top of his post:

GO FUCK YOURSELF YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT.STOP UPVOTING THAT PIECE OF SHIT @HAEJIN. --Bernie

And equally as tasteless as his infantile attempt at diplomacy he up voted his own comment and made $30 USD for it.

This type of behavior is not platform beneficial.

As I have stated before that if I were @ranchorelaxo it most certainly would not dissuade me from doing what I have been doing; it would only piss me off. Also as the comment discloses what behavior I have been doing to annoy you, I would only do it more. I fail to find the benefit in attacking users with the financial horsepower to benefit the platform and other users.

Let us even consider @haejin whom is quickly making his way into the elite. Perhaps embracing him and motivating him to upvote other authors, etc would be better than attacking and tearing him down. Perhaps making him feel like a member of the community, as opposed to someone who is attacked for his success would motivate him to invest in the community or diversify his interests here.

There are multiple ways to skin a cat, but infantile, profanity ridden trades, wherein users are called "useless cocksuckers, cunts, told to lick his balls, called fuck sticks, worthless etc." are ineffective diplomacy, immature and not traits I can condone in one whom purports to be a good whale or a leader. Leaders don't act like that, leaders don't lead by belittling those in those beneath them; leaders lead by example

To me it smacks more of megalomania and narcissism than an attempt to help the community in any quantifiable fashion.

no one could ever accuse bernie of being a diplomat.

it is possible that @ranchorelaxo was a first step into the community. It's also possible considering the timing that it is a self-serving move to appear that he's not someone else's whale account.

As for @haejin .. I respect your desire to think the best of him and that he actually has some intent to be part of the community. His history so far shows differently.

As always, I will wait and see what he does. As for his followers, there are likely some well intentioned within the group, the vocal ones I've seen so far are not what I'd want to invite to remain.

Time will tell. First impressions are not always the end result even if they if they are often a valid precursor.

I concur, and if @haejin is cashing out that would be disappointing but could likewise be a reflection of not wanting to invest in a platform where you are treated like shit for being successful.

As to @rancholexo being a secret/shill whale account, beyond speculation and conjecture there is no evidence "as of yet" to support that hypothesis.

As I spent a few years in a profession that dealt with finding the most probable reasoning behind an act I have found that in most cases the simplest answer is the correct answer; greed, jealousy, etc.

To that end, the simplest answer to the @ranchorelaxo saga, is that he may have profited from the advice of @haejin and chose to show his appreciation through upvoting.

It also seems as if he did not act overly irresponsibly and has since curbed the behavior. Lets assume he made $500,000 and upvoted @haejin 10% of his profit. Not unreasonable...

We will have to see how it plays out...

You say that he has been downvoting people who negatively take advantage of the platform. @pawsdog has done no such thing and he has been downvoted. Just saying.

Since I am not privy to the mind of @berniesanders, I am not about to begin to guess why he chose to downvote @pawsdog.

With the crap that comes at him, it's possible he's mistaken @pawsdog for one of the haejin cult.. who knows

collateral damage happens and it sucks that you experienced a drop in rep @pawsdog but you can recover it. Actual idiots have managed to rebuild their rep and you aren't one.