So what's up with White Bear?

It seems like everytime I get in touch with a friend that I haven't spoken to for a few years, they are a totally different person. Here's a perfect example: So I lose touch with my ex boyfriend for a few months, right? Well we start talking again, and as it turns out, he's become a cutter, a drinker, and a smoker. He's going scene, with his skinny jeans that show off his woman thighs and his bracelets that "cover up" the slits all up his arms. He makes melodramatic Facebook statuses (stati?) about how no one understands him and how he hates when people make anti-gay remarks toward him. And all I can say is HOLD ON A SEC. This boy used to the peppiest kid I knew. He was always so happy and making gay jokes that would make me laugh, no matter how much I despised them. I always figured he was heading down the scene culture path, what with all the "emo" girls he was always chasing after, but I never expected him to be such a product of the stereotype.
Another example, my old best friend. She always used to be so happy and I was always over shadowed by her intelligence and her excellent grades. She was so out going and friendly. But now, she too has become a cutter and dropped out of advanced classes. I'm not sure if some sort of tragedy struck or what, but it just begs the question...
What the hell is up with White Bear?
I remember a few years back, you could go to the park and meet up with friends without finding teenagers smoking pot or homeless men wandering around confused. When you could go to a school dance and not be forced to breathe into a Breathalyzer. And when you could leave your bike unchained to a post for 15 minutes and not worry about it being stolen when you get back.
Don't get me wrong, I love the town, and I'm not expecting it to go all upper middle class, drive-your-kids-to-the-bus-stop-cuz-they-might-get-kidnapped. I hate that kinid of environment. But it's just a let down to see all the kids you went to elementary & middle school turn out to be emo/scene pieces of shit. It pains me to say this, but I miss the ghetto fabulous WBL that I grew up in. T.T