When I was in my early 20's, my ex-husband took me to a friend's house (both my ex and this friend were 15+ years older than me). They thought it was hilarious that the friend's 3 year old son couldn't pronounce "fork" correctly -- it ended up sounding like the "f" word. They made the poor kid say it over, and over, and over again. He had no idea why they were laughing like hyenas.
When I was around 8, my older sister got married. Her husband had a sticker on the dashboard of his car, I can see it now, it was a picture of a tipsy cat in a martini glass, and it said, "happiness is a wet p*ssy". They offered me money to say it, and so did his mom (??!!). I didn't, because even then, I didn't think it was right.
What the heck is wrong with people, that they get a kick out of kids doing things like this?
And yes, I personally think it's a big deal, because it acts like a barometer for what we, as a society, think is "ok". And I think we've really lowered the bar on what is acceptable, as situations like this will show.