But intent dictates what you can expect from people in the future. A committed anti-Semite will in the future discriminate against Jews in consequential ways, by not hiring them, assaulting them, or supporting political violence against them. On the other side of the spectrum, a kid with poor taste and a lack of judgement that was overshadowed by the desire to be edgy in front of his peers will just be embarrassed by himself. It's not like intent is irrelevant to the extent of a problem.
Ignorance begets hate a friend of mine wrote about the vice president of the Islamic center in her college town. He was a Marine vet and was formerly anti-Muslim after getting back, to the point he said he wanted to blow up a mosque. After taking the chance to learn about the culture, he changed his tune entirely and went on to be director of the student Muslim group on that campus. I can send a link if you want to read more about it.
That said, we can't know someone's intent. When it comes to assessing/condemning actions themselves outside a court of law, intent has no true consequence. An accidental killing still has the same result as a purposeful one since we're not sentencing the persons responsible in this thread, it is entirely fair to call out an action for what it is. People are free to make further personal judgments of the ones responsible.
But you do understand the difference between your ignorance/insensitivity and actual malice, I'm assuming. Hate and malice should be rallied against, Ignorance and insensitivity should be identified and amended. Or, at least tolerated and ignored at times in the case of insensitivity, because hey, not every insensitive remark requires a march against it.
In a relative sense, I would imagine that even though it might've hurt, that wheelchair bound person you're talking about would prefer your insensitivity over receiving actual malice. And there should be room there for you to improve and for that person to help you improve without animosity, as opposed to how a hypothetical handicapped-hating Westboro Baptist equivalent should be treated.
In this thread, people are taking umbrage with others saying this shouldn't be written off as "kids will be kids," just because these students are (maybe) not "racist/antisemitic/prejudiced to the core."
Whether they intend to hurt others or perpetuate antisemitism doesn't make it more or less damaging. Saying "that's a really fucked up thing to do," doesn't sentence them to life in prison. You can only conclude it's less harmful if you think the only way racism/antisemitism hurts other people is if the victims know they're purposefully being othered/subjugated/discriminated.
If I responded to the wheelchair user I was talking with by saying "well, I didn't mean it in a bad way," it wouldn't change that I was perpetuating the notion that people who use wheelchairs are defined by that use, or that they can't get out of the chair. It wouldn't change that what I said was ignorant I'm sure they'd feel better knowing I didn't intend to belittle them, but it wouldn't change that what I said was pretty much wrong.
You serious? Stupid teens playing a game they think is funny in the same way a lot of people think the dark comedy of South Park or Cards Against Humanity is funny and not realizing how playing this game can be offensive to certain people.
vs.
Actually being anti semitic and hating Jewish people / being a Nazi sympathizer.
When it comes to assessing an individual action (which, in this thread, is all we have to go on with these students) and the effects of said action, it's irrelevant.
