A top law enforcement agency in the state of Oregon launched a hotline to report “offensive jokes,” according to a report from the Washington Free Beacon.
In January 2020, the Oregon Department of Justice launched the “Bias Response Hotline” to encourage Oregonians to tattletale on fellow residents. The hotline is run by “trauma-informed operators” and reportedly receives thousands of calls a year.
The hotline, which solicits reports of hiring discrimination and hate crimes, also encourages residents to report “bias incidents.” Those include “non-criminal” expressions that someone believes could hypothetically be motivated “in part” by prejudice or hate.
Examples of “bias incident” reports that the state is interested in include “creating racist images,” “mocking someone with a disability,” or “sharing offensive ‘jokes’ about someone’s identity.” According to the Free Beacon, “imitating someone’s cultural norm” is also something the state wants to report.
In an effort to understand the reporting system, a reporter with the Free Beacon called the hotline and reported a fake incident. He described himself as a Muslim concerned about the alleged genocide in Gaza and said he felt “targeted” by an Israeli flag on his neighbor’s door.
Within 20 minutes, a hotline operator logged the display in a “state database,” referred to the Israeli flag as a “warning sign,” and suggested the man install security cameras in case the incident escalated.
The bias report operator also suggested that the report — an alleged “victim of a bias incident” — should apply for taxpayer-funded therapy sessions through the state’s Crime Victims Compensation Program.
The reporter provided no evidence of imminent danger or evidence that the incident ever took place.
“Even if [bias] is not explicit, we go with whatever the victim is experiencing,” the operator reportedly said. “And if your sense is that this is based on discrimination against your faith or your country of origin … that’s how I would document it.”
