Brockton

A city in Massachusetts known for poverty and violence. Most observers criticize these street-level phenomena, but institutional corruption dwarfs both, whether police/fire/school departments, public works, or the mayor and city council. While a thin crust of decent people keep the city from collapsing in on itself, Brockton has rightfully been used as a punch line in a Playboy cartoon (in the 70's, when they were very popular), movies (Coneheads, The Departed), and by dozens of authors (most notably the august Lewis Lapham).