Treating adults like little children is ridiculous.
Treating adults like everything has to be serious all of the time and that they have to eschew a sense of spontaneity and wonder is ridiculous. I'm not really sure why you feel the need to draw the line.
The unemployed did need games for their self esteem. It's really sad that you and others find this demeaning. I think you fundamentally misunderstand what joy life can bring you and the nature of humor. I think that jarring someone's self image at a time when they need to rethink everything is brilliant.
On the other hand, I would imagine that most people's reaction wouldn't understand it and would mentally show up with pitchforks and torches; so I wouldn't have given the green light either. But that's only because that would be a waste of good capes.