C'mon, seeker5, standing around a farmers market, holding a sign offering free hugs? It's FUNNY! It's playful! It's begging to be poked fun at! Yes, I will say it: he was asking for it.
That's part of the risk of taking on something so goofy: people might make fun of you.
And that's part of the opportunity, too: you get to find out how courageous, flexible, engaging, and BOLD you can be -- and how much FUN you can have.
This deluxe hugger is not mean-spirited. He's just laughing at something that's funny, and he's saying YES, AND to it. It's improvisation, it's saying yes to what you're given, and then escalating it. It's even funnier that the free hugger is so solemn, taking himself and his work so seriously, as if he's performing some sacred religious ritual.
Have you ever taken an improv class? I highly recommend it to you!