what freedom have I had taken away from me living here in California my whole life? I am curious.
All three of those cities you named are only ever remembered for being good when America was the king of the world. Stockton is a port, Detroit had cars, and Gary was a steel town. Steel and cars are made all around the world now. Ports don't stay as busy when production is down plus those jobs are pretty good and unionized and difficult to get. As the Bay Area continues to get more expensive to live people move to places like Stockton. Crime follows them. Stockton is still recovering from the Republican created recession.