I've met house-elves with more initiative. If a ruler does something that distresses those he is ruling over, for his own amusement, and they should not condemn or even comment on it? That is tyranny.
There are rules that have to be followed, but all rules should have purpose. We shouldn't be subjected to someone's arbitrary whims and flights of fancy. That sort of thing does not prevent rebellion. It feeds the flames of it. Before this incident, had I been asked if I thought the ruler was good and had our best interests at heart, I would have said yes. Now I cannot.
This is your realm now, you know. May I ask, in the place you came from, were you unfree?