I have a different spin on what is happening. Certainly you could move. Obviously, you can avoid going to a bar. However, the real problem seems to be drugs. Methamphetamine and Crack Cocaine in particular.
I am not from Pheonix, but I have done research on the topic and it is widespread and has the same results everywhere. The gay lifestyle and gay bars are notorious for having high rates of addiction. This is not news to you if you are in your 20's.
The problems my generation had (I'm 37) were entirely different, but notsomuch that we didn't witness the arrival of the drugs. Certainly these drugs were around prior to my adulthood, but it was very limited. To even hear the word Cocaine was almost foreign. Nobody I knew had even seen it. It wasn't until I was in my 20's that I say it myself. Methamphetamine wasn't even in our imaginations.
Now we know better, but the younger generations are exposed to it all at such young ages that it is almost comfortable for them to experiment at very young ages. Certainly we experimented as well, but not with anything like Crack or Meth and anything else was outrageously expensive. Even a 1/4 of weed cost 120 bucks back then, now it's almost free. These days with Crack and Meth, the first hit IS FREE because it's the first one that gets you.
That's really it in a nutshell in my mind. What we had was a bunch of beautiful personalities that would have been pleasant and kind for the most part, enjoying the evening, perhaps had a bit too much to drink and got beligerent. What we have now is are hordes of people hooked on drugs that make them super aggressive and super DESPERATE. They feel no real pleasure, just pain. It's a real tragedy.
