The fascists use “joking” as a litmus test.
They tell a shitty bigoted joke and if the reaction is bad they’re “just joking”.
But if they are reaffirmed it is no longer a joke and they’ll feel comfortable openly and sincerely discussing what would have been “just a joke” otherwise.
I personally witnessed things like this when I was a little kid around some of my older relatives (who are just as garbage today)