People who take what others regard as a ridiculous position should not bother to say, I mean every word
For either their position truly is ridiculous, in which case insisting that they are serious about it only exposes them to deeper embarrassment, or else their position has merit, in which case they should meet disbelief with rational argument rather than with assurances of their sincerity
A practice that has been denounced as a poor practice should not be defended on the grounds that this is how we have always done it.  If the practice is a poor one, so much the worse that it has been extensively used; if it is not a poor one, there must be a better reason for engaging in it than inertia.