They will argue that no such bomb could ever have been made, and that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were false flags, or some bullshit along similar lines. Or worse, they will argue that nukes are just bigger versions of ordinary bombs, perfectly kosher for use in any scenario that would otherwise justify dropping bombs on the enemy of the day.
So an argument could be made that we should light one off in the desert every Fourth of July and sell tickets, just to pre-empt this particular subculture of stupidity.
Maybe there are small tactical devices that would be clean enough, if detonated far enough above the ground. But I doubt it.
Keep in mind that the idea is to avoid setting off even more of them in anger. Right now it's considered deeply taboo to drop a nuclear weapon on an enemy. In another generation, a nuclear conflict will be considered drastic but nothing all that horrific. The generation after that will have fewer inhibitions. The generation after that will have fewer members.
I've often thought that a suitable airburst would be a great climax for large fireworks displays. But then, there's the EMF. Sigh.
I would've agreed with you until relatively recently. Lately, those people seem to gain more political power over the rest of us in every election.
I'm not that serious about setting off nukes to educate, impress, or otherwise remind them, though. For one thing, there's absolutely no reason to believe it would work.