When the 909 area code was created in 1992, it quickly gained a negative reputation. “Maybe people come from these areas with an attitude because Orange County is labeling them.” “Maybe it’s causing some rivalry,” she said. She conceded, though, that labeling people from the Inland Empire ‘909ers’ may not help ease the tension. Susie Smith, owner of Makin Waves Salon on Main Street, said some visitors seem to “come with a chip on their shoulder and think we have more things or a better life than they do, and they don’t respect our community.” “I’d prefer if they just didn’t come at all.” People that come down to destroy instead of protect,” he said, declining to give his name because of the possible repercussions. “We’re trying to defend our beaches from people that don’t live there. Urban Dictionary takes its own shot at the 909, describing it as “a great place to live between Los Angeles and Las Vegas if you don’t mind the meth labs, cows, and dirt people.”įor the 21-year-old grad student who created the Facebook page, the tipping point was the night of violence on Main Street, which he insisted was caused by 909ers. For others, it conjures up an image of young people absorbed with dirt-bike gear and lifted trucks. For some, it’s just a catchall for the Inland Empire. There is no agreed-upon definition of a 909er. This is a city that thrives on tourism but has an increasingly tense relationship with tourists. But in Huntington Beach, there is no escaping the 909 - or the 951, the 760, or any other area codes from which the city’s 15 million tourists arrive every year. Yet a stereotype based on an area code persists. “Like it’s some crime to be from some other part of California and come to our beach.” “I hate the term ‘909ers,’ ” said Connie Boardman, the beach city’s mayor. Though the event drew thousands, there were few problems. Someone even created a Facebook page called Go Home 909ers, warning that “Southern California Beaches are for LOCALS ONLY.” When an end-of-summer beach rave was staged this month, some worried about the 909ers it might attract. By the next day, residents in Huntington Beach and neighboring beach towns pointed toward the Inland Empire as the source of the bad behavior.
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