@arian1 - the whales can do only a little at a time. The platform is dynamic enough & is designed to not be fully dominated by them. If you read the whitepaper you will also learn that even a minnow's vote will have more power over that of a whale in certain circumstances.

Do NOT give up on this easily. Moving from reputation score of 30 to 50 will take a lot of effort from your side. Read this link that I wrote a while ago explaining steemit basics to understand why I say so:

https://steemit.com/steemit/@nrajesh/attention-content-makers-nitty-gritties-of-steemit

Found something even better for you to dispel your doubts!

https://steemit.com/steemit/@arcange/what-is-steemit-reputation-and-how-does-it-work

It will take some time to build up your base here. So long as you keep up your content value you will gain followers. As long as you curate appropriately, you will gain respect!