There was an episode of "The John Larroquette Show" back in 1993 in which his character, the night manager of a bus depot, refused to rent a bus to a group of Neo-Nazis who were planning a big public outing to celebrate Hitler's birthday. The depot got sued and the Jewish lawyer representing the Nazis argued that it was better for people like them to be out in the open, where everyone can see them and laugh at them, instead of growing and festering in dark corners like mold.
We've now seen that being out in the open just encouraged them and people who share their attitudes.
There's a joke, "How does every racist joke in the world start?", with the physically performed punchline being a cautious turn of the head to both sides to see who's nearby to overhear. People aren't looking around anymore, and they're not telling jokes.