A white Toyota Prius C has been vandalized by a disgruntled Portlander, according to The Oregonian. Someone with a chip on their shoulder and a can of spray paint caught wind that one of their Portland neighbors was actually from California and took action.
This happened after a verbal altercation between an angry motorist and Preston Page, the owner of the vandalized Prius C. Page was dropping off his girlfriend Jessica Faraday at their Northeast 59th Avenue home in Portland when the driver behind them got frustrated about the narrow street being temporarily blocked. When the angry driver noticed the California license plate on the Prius, he worked his way around the car and shouted “Go back to f---ing California!”
When Page and Faraday woke up the next morning, the Prius C had “go back to California” spray painted on the side along with deep scratches, “Cali! Surfs up” painted on the hood, and “California get out of PDX [Portland]” painted on the back. The vandal didn’t stop there. The remarks “move back,” “get California out of Portland,” and “California dreamin'” were spray painted on Page and Faraday’s house. Cleverly, the hoodlum used gold spray paint to represent the Golden State.
Many Oregonians have carried a bit of an anti-California sentiment for the past few decades. Some see Californians as invaders of Portland taking jobs and causing property values to shoot up which makes it harder for native Oregonians to buy a home. Incidentally, Page understands the animosity towards Californians and told The Oregonian he gets that “rising prices cause tension that, unfortunately, is natural.” He intends to stay in Portland saying “Other than this, people have been fantastic here.”