Californians now have a hotline to snitch on people for being mean.
The California Civil Rights Department has launched a new initiative called CA vs Hate, where people can report any "hate incident" including "derogatory name calling."
"A hate incident is a hostile expression or action that may be motivated by bias against another person’s actual or perceived identity," the initiative's website states. "Perpetrators may be motivated by different discriminatory biases, including, but not limited to; bias based on race, color, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender, including gender identity."
Such incidents, according to the website, include "derogatory name-calling, bullying, hate mail, and refusing service."
"Under California law, a hate crime is a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived characteristics of the victim: disability, gender, gender identity, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation; or because of the person’s association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics," the website continues.
According to the California Civil Rights Department, there are two main kinds of hate incidents. The first is "acts of hate that are not crimes but violate civil rights laws," and the second is "acts of hate that may not violate the law but still cause significant harm in a community."
Alleged victims of a "hate incident" can submit reports online in 15 languages or over 200 languages if calling the hotline at 833-8-NO-HATE.
The website states that hotline services are provided to anyone, even if not a US citizen, with no questions asked, at taxpayers' expense.
Callers will be connected with "a professional trained in culturally competent communication and trauma-informed practices" and provided resources for legal, financial, mental health, and mediation services.
Reports will not be shared with law enforcement unless the caller requests it. Instead, California vs Hate "will identify civil legal options that don’t involve the criminal legal system, both through the Civil Rights Department and other agencies."
According to the website, "reporting will stop the normalization of hate in our communities, and ensure impacted individuals get the help they need."
